When love's not enough
by Genosythe
Summary: Numbuh 4 really wants to confess his love for Numbuh 3, but will he manage to spit it out before the Delightful Children screw it all up? Chappie 13 up. And it's still not the end! XD
1. It begins!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything.

**A/N:** I just started a new story, because the other one was getting boring. This one will be different. But I think maybe I'm going to go with a few changes in the later chapters. It was supposed to be an all 3/4 fluff story, because they're my favorite couple, but I changed my mind… I kinda had a fluff overload in Operation: H.A.U.N.T.E.D., so I'm going with another story I started to think of as well. So I'm combining the two ideas. So there are two stories in one. Confused? Okay.

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 1**

There had always been something between Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4. A certain flirt of some kind, a little game they were playing. Numbuh 4 hated to admit it, but he had a crush on Numbuh 3, and it wasn't just some stupid 1st grader stuff, as he referred to it. Nope, it was the real thing – it was… love.

Numbuh 3 wasn't sure about what she felt, if it was just a game or if it was something real. But the thought of it being real love somehow frightened her a little bit. When she thought about it, feeling love with Wallabee was just too weird, too freaky to actually happen. Although she had been playing along in their love-and-hate game all the way from the beginning of. How could they possibly end up as a couple?

Numbuh 4 had wanted to tell her the truth for a very long time, he just never managed to spit it out. Either something interrupted, or he just swallowed his tongue. For some reason he was afraid of her reaction. What would she say? Would she say that she felt the same way?

If Numbuh 4 actually had feelings for Numbuh 3 would he ever tell her? She didn't think so. She was rather naive, and thought that he really didn't like her that way. How could _he_, Wallabee Beatles, the tough fighter, possible be in love with her? Besides, they had a very strict relationship. After all, they were team mates. They weren't supposed to be a couple. What would Numbuh 1 say? He'd say that their relationship was to remain professional.

The fear for other people's reaction really bothered Numbuh 4. He wasn't sure if he could go through with it, all the mocking comments on how the little boyish loud-mouthed fighter suddenly liked a girl. And not just any girl; the girl who surrounded herself with all the most girly things you could have imagined. Her room was filled with stuffed animals, she loved dress-ups, her favorite game was playing tea party and she loved flowers. Now, if that's not girly-!

This is where the story begins. It was a day like any other one. Sector V was waking up, getting dressed and preparing themselves for another adult-fighting day. Everything is just the way it's supposed to be, everyone is feeling normal – except for Numbuh 4. He woke up with a troublesome thought. It was as if something inside him told him that this was the day he turned it all around, this was the day he actually got a grip and told Kuki about his feelings.

Numbuh 3 was up early, and she started the day the way she usually did; saying good-morning to all of her stuffed animals. Then she found her way to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Nothing, what so ever, was bothering her. No troublesome thoughts, no annoying confession she just had to deal with before it made her sick. Nothing.

Pounding the boxing bag around wasn't of much help for Numbuh 4. It only got him worked up to go beat up some adults. The annoying thought about confessing to Numbuh 3 was still there no matter what he did. It was driving him insane! He was afraid of telling her, and now he actually feared not telling her as well! What if something happened to them before he actually had a chance to tell her about his feelings for her? What a horrible thought!

He got a grip and made his way up to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Seeing Numbuh 3 at the table chewing her breakfast with a satisfied look on her face made him anxious, and the thought about confessing was bothering him even more now.

"Hi, Wally!" she chimed with the usually so happy voice of hers. She waved a green sleeve-covered hand at him and grinned. "Did you sleep well? I did! I had a really cute dream!"

Numbuh 4 returned her smile nervously. "Err, yeah," he said.

"You want to know what I dreamt about, Numbuh 4?" she asked excited, still with the funny grin on her face. Without waiting for him to reply, she continued. "I dreamt that I was in a big meadow filled with pretty flowers. So I started to pick some of them, and all the sudden I saw a big rainbow up in the sky. And there were many Rainbow Monkeys on top of it. They were singing and dancing, and asked me to join them. So I did! I climbed up the rainbow and had super-duper fun with all the Rainbow Monkeys!"

Numbuh 4 stared at her sheepishly. What was he supposed to reply to that? He just scratched the back of his head and smiled again. "Sounds nice." He suddenly felt stupid for not coming up with anything better to say. Usually, when this confession-thing wasn't bothering him, he just groaned at the words of Rainbow Monkey and rolled his eyes.

He quickly turned away form the girl, and headed for the refrigerator to get something to eat. The annoying thought was stronger than ever. You're here alone with her, Wally! Do it now! Say it, it'll make you feel much better! Or would it? He carefully glanced back at her. She was busy eating her breakfast.

He sighed. "Get a grip, Wally!" he muttered under his breath. "You don't have to say anything to her!" He settled with some left-over pizza from the day before for breakfast and sat down at the table hesitatingly.

"All done!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed with a giggle and got up. "See you later, Numbuh 4. I'm going to go feed the hamsters." She skipped out of the room, humming.

For some reason, Numbuh 4 was very happy about her leaving. At least he wouldn't have to say anything to her for now.

Meanwhile, Numbuh 2 was busy in his room trying to make improvements on the M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.O.. He had been sketching the improvements, he just wasn't certain if it would work as he'd planned. Lying on his back under it, he muttered some words of irritation that was impossible to work out. He had just noticed a big mistake.

"Numbuh 2?" Numbuh 5's voice echoed in the big room.

Numbuh 2 was about to look up from his work, but then bumped his head on the underside of the big vehicle. "Ow!"

Numbuh 5 winched at the painful sound from underneath the vehicle and gritted her teeth. "Listen, Numbuh 1 wants us all in the meeting room, but he didn't feel like sounding the alarm since it isn't _that_ important," she explained. Her expression quickly changed as she folded her arms. "Numbuh 5 says it's time you got that calling system up and working again."

Numbuh 2 finally came out from under the vehicle and stood up. "Look, I've got a lot of work to do!" he snapped, wiping some oil off his blue shirt with the palm of his hand. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but there is plenty of stuff for me to fix all the time."

"Yeah, yeah!" Numbuh 5 muttered, waving her hand at him, showing that she really didn't care. She turned around and left the room. Numbuh 2 followed right behind her.

Numbuh 1 was waiting for the rest of the team to show up in the meeting room. Only Numbuh 3 was seated in the half circle couch that was installed in the floor, chewing on a big pink bubblegum. Numbuh 1 was pacing around up on his platform, shining the lenses of shades on the edge of his red turtleneck sweater.

Numbuh 4 finally entered the room after finishing his breakfast. He burped loudly, giggled and sat down next to Numbuh 3. She giggles, too. Numbuh 1 rolled his eyes of the immatureness of his team.

Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 showed up short time after. They both took a seat on the couch.

"Numbuh 2, seriously, you have to do something about that calling system!" Numbuh 1 said impatiently.

"Alright, alright!" Numbuh 2 was getting tired of hearing that over and over. "Gee, calm down! That's all I'm hearing around here!"

"Enough about that," Numbuh 1 said, changing the subject. "I wanted to inform you about the latest plot of the Delightful Children form Down the Lane. I've received information that they're working on another brainwashing device that will turn normal kids into Delightful Children, just like themselves. We cannot let that happen! That's why I want you all to be completely alert today. It's very important that we strike right away when something is going on in the neighborhood. I want some of you outside to check the neighborhood status, see if anything unusual is going on." He turned his head towards Numbuh 2. "I want you work on the S.K.Y.C.L.A.W.. There's a big chance we'll need it in this battle." Then he turned towards Numbuh 5. "I want you to bring Numbuh 3 and 4 outside, and check on the mansion while you're at it. Maybe you'll get some more information on their plot. And you'll also keep an eye open for anything suspicious. Now, you'll all have a T.A.L.K.E.R. each, so if anything's going on, you'll report it right away."

**Weapon/vehicle interruption:**

Kids Next Door T.A.L.K.E.R.

Transports Alerts Like Keeping Everyone Ranged

**Now ending weapon/vehicle interruption****…**

"Got it, chief," Numbuh 5 replied, looking up at her leader from underneath her beloved cap.

"Kids Next Door – get to work," Numbuh 1 commanded. Then he slowly made his way down from the platform.

Numbuh 2 left the others, walking all the way back to his room. Numbuh 3, 4 and 5 each got a T.A.L.K.E.R. from a weaponry storage, plus some weapons just incase if they got dragged into an unexpected battle. A T.A.L.K.E.R. is a walkie-talkie device that you strap around your wrist. It can make you communicate with someone else over another T.A.L.K.E.R., even if they're really far away from you. Its signals can not be picked up by any other radio device, so you never have to worry about giving up top-secret information over it.

"Now, if they're _working_ on a plot there's a big chance there won't be any action today, guys," Numbuh 5 said, sharing her thoughts with her two team mates.

"Aw." Numbuh 4 was rather displeased with that. "And I thought I was going to get to kick some butt today."

They left the Treehouse by foot for once. Usually they had Numbuh 2 as their pilot, but not today. Numbuh 5 was not all that thrilled about walking, but at least it wasn't a far way down to the mansion. She knew that if Numbuh 2 had dropped them off at the mansion odds where they'd be spotted by the enemy, which of course was a bad thing this time as they were going to spy on those Delightful Dorks.

Numbuh 3 skipped along the sidewalk, picking flowers and humming the Rainbow Monkey song.

"Do you really have to sing that stupid song, Kuki?" Numbuh 4 asked irritated. He had finally managed to push the annoying thought back and start to act normally again. But he wasn't sure if he could hold it back much longer.

Numbuh 3 stopped and stared at him. "Huh?" Then her face cracked up in a huge grin. "It's not stupid, silly! It's the bestest song ever made!"

"What are you – nuts?" Numbuh 4 shouted.

"Shut up, you two!" Numbuh 5 said, raising an arm to get them quiet. "We're here." They carefully made their way down the drive of the mansion. All was quiet. Nothing was going on either on the outside or the inside of the mansion as far as they could see.

Numbuh 5 motioned for them to follow her into the backyard. She climbed up on Numbuh 4's shoulders and peeked into one of the big windows. The room inside was left in darkness, since the sun was shining on the other side of the mansion.

"You see anything?" Numbuh 4 asked her as he gently balanced her on his shoulders.

"Nope, nothing," she replied.

"Maybe there's nobody home?" Numbuh 3 suggested with her oh so sweet voice.

The others ignored her for now. "Try that one," Numbuh 5 ordered, pointing at the next window. She gave Numbuh 4 a light kick in the side to get him to move in the direction she was pointing. He groaned irritated, but discreetly made his way over to the next window.

Numbuh 5 peeked in. But before she could register any sign of life inside, a mechanical sound from behind them made Numbuh 4 spin around so fast Numbuh 5 almost fell down.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't Nigel Uno's little playmates." The monotone voices of the Delightful Children were heard through a speaker on top of their big destructive machine. They were standing inside a glass case in the front, gazing down at their enemies. "What do you want this time, Kids Next Dorks? Do you want to leave now and admit that you lost the battle fair and square, or do you want us to beat you until you beg for mercy, and then admit that you lost?"

"We'll never surrender to you Delightful Morons!" Numbuh 4 shouted angrily after helping Numbuh 5 off of his shoulders. "Bring it on!" He pulled out his weapon and aimed.

The two girls did the same.

"It's always the hard way with you meddling kids, isn't it?" they said with their monotone voices. "But that's alright. It's more fun this way." A big metal claw came into view from behind the big monstrosity of a machine. It was heading for the three little kids on the ground.

"Spread out!" Numbuh 5 commanded.

All of them ran in opposite directions, leaving the metal claw to miss everyone of them. Numbuh 5 rolled out of reach and fired her gun at the machine. Numbuh 3 ran to the other side and fired her gun as well. Numbuh 4 quickly made a jump to get underneath the machine. He started to fire his gun upwards to search for weak spots. But the metal claw changed its direction fast, now heading right for him. He dodged out of reach.

Numbuh 3 made a shot towards the glass cage that almost made it crack. "Take that!" she yelled. She was proud of the shot she had just made, and grinned widely. "Yay! I'm good!"

"Why you little-!" The Delightful Children now aimed the claw right at her. She tried to dodge away, but failed. The claw grabbed her with a painful metallic clink that made her utter a tiny cry.

"Hey, let her go!" Numbuh 5 shouted from the other side, firing her gun at the glass case.

"You want to go for a ride, too, Abigail?" the Delightfuls asked. "Very well." They steered the claw right at her. She made an attempt of dodging away, which led the claw hit her head hard.

"Numbuh 5!" Numbuh 3 called out helplessly, hanging on to the claw for her bare life. If she had let go she might have broken her legs. The Delightful Children kept the claw far from the ground, only lowering it when it was chasing a target.

Numbuh 5 fell to the ground. The hit on her had almost caused her to pass out. She moaned in pain and felt that her breakfast was on its way up again. She managed to press it back down and laid a hand on her aching head. What an unrealistic pain! She slowly sat up, feeling very dizzy.

Now that she was down, she was easy to catch. The Delightful Children grabbed her with the metal claw, now leaving the two helpless girls pressed tightly together.

Numbuh 4 didn't know what to do. He had totally forgotten about his T.A.L.K.E.R. now that the girls were in danger. "Ey, you cruddy Delightful Idiots!" he shouted angrily. "Let go of them, or I'll give you a serious woopin'! I mean it! You're asking for it!"

"Little Wallace Beatles," the Delightful Children said, shaking their heads in despair. "You never give up, do you? You don't give up until you feel how painful it really is to be our enemy."

"Stop calling me little, you cruddy brats!" he yelled, sounding even angrier now that they had commented him on his physical appearance. If there was one thing he really hated, it was being called little, shrimp, shorty, squirt and other remarks about his height. He ran out to the side of the machine to get in a better shot. He fired his gun at the glass cage, now realizing that was the weakest spot of the machine. If he could shatter the glass cage, he could get a clear shot at the Delightful Dorks. But before he managed to break it, the claw came for him. He wasn't fast enough. The claw got him and squeezed him together with his team mates.

"Let's see now," the Delightfuls said. "What to do with nosey kids that spy on us? Aw, yes, let's bring them to the dungeon. It'll be so much fun locking you in there, Kids Next Doom. Let's see if your precious leader comes to rescue you this time!"

The metal claw had squeezed together, pressing the air out of the poor operatives.

"I'm sorry, guys," Numbuh 4 apologized with a sad voice as the Delighfuls started to make their machine move.

"Numbuh 5's sorry, too," Numbuh 5 said low. "But don't worry. Numbuh 1'll save us. Besides, we still have our T.A.L.K.E.R.s, right? Not that Numbuh 5 can reach it now, though."

"We can tell him what's going on as soon as they let us go," Numbuh 3 said, sounding cheerful as always.

"Unless they take it away from us," Numbuh 4 groaned. He really expected the worst. And he was right about thinking that way. The worst _was_ to be expected.


	2. The MindReader 3000

**Disclaimer:** This wonderful cartoon is not mine.

**A/N:** Yes, new chapter! Hope you'll like it!

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 2**

Pacing back and forth in his room, Numbuh 1 started to get rather impatient with his team. There had been no activity on the T.A.L.K.E.R., something he found rather annoying. Placing a hand on his chin, he started to think of the number of reasons why there was no report on the neighborhood status from his team. He was worried that there had been some kind of accident, but he doubted it strongly. He was pretty sure that they had forgotten to report the status, something that had occurred before. Although Numbuh 5 usually was good at remembering to inform the leader about anything, even if everything was normal around the neighborhood.

He decided to get a glass of lemonade to satisfy his thirst, so he left his room, making his way to the kitchen. He wasn't surprised to see Numbuh 2 in there, getting a big pile of sandwiches for lunch.

"Hey, have you heard anything from the others yet?" Numbuh 2 asked, taking a big bite out of one of his sandwiches.

"No, I'm afraid not," Numbuh 1 replied as he crossed the kitchen to get to the counter. "It's very odd. They should have reported _something_, but the T.A.L.K.E.R. has been absolutely quiet. They know better than to be joking around and forget to report the neighborhood status."

"Yeah," Numbuh 2 replied with his mouth full, flipping through a comic book. "Aw, man! I've already read this one!"

Numbuh 1 grabbed a glass and filled it with lemonade, ignoring Numbuh 2's discovery. He took a big sip of it before he said: "Maybe something is wrong?"

Numbuh 2 shook his head. "I doubt that. How can they _possibly_ mess up such an easy mission?"

**Meanwhile,**** somewhere in the Delightful Children's Mansion:**

A secret passage behind the bookshelf in Father's living room led down a dark, cold stairway that smelled like an old basement from the middle ages or so. At the end of the stairs there was a long hallway that led directly to an old dungeon in the creepy crypt somewhere down in the depths of the big mansion's sublevel. Numbuh 5 thought it smelled horrible down there. She tried to breathe through her mouth instead so she wouldn't smell it.

Father had the three young operatives thrown in the dark and cold dungeon, leaving them there as his prisoners. The only light he had left there was a torch up on the wall by the lonely cell the three helpless operatives now was confined.

"What are we going to do?" Numbuh 3 cried out clueless. "They took the T.A.L.K.E.R.s away from us! We can't warn Numbuh 1 now!"

"Calm down," Numbuh 5 said with a steady voice, even though she was just as clueless. "We just have to wait. Numbuh 1'll figure it out soon enough."

Numbuh 4 held on to the bars inside the cell, looking around as he tried to figure out a way for them to escape. "There's got to be a way to get out of here," he muttered. "There's just _got_ to!"

"Numbuh 5 says we just chill," Numbuh 5 said as she sat down on the cold floor. "There's nothing to worry about. Numbuh 1'll be here before you two can say strawberry-ice-cream. He's probably noticed how we haven't reported any status yet."

Numbuh 4 turned to face her. Numbuh 3 stared at her. They didn't seem too sure about what she'd just said, but it seemed to calm Numbuh 3 down a little bit.

**Back in the Treehouse:**

"Hey, if you're really that curious about them, why don't you just contact them on their T.A.L.K.E.R.s yourself?" Numbuh 2 asked his leader and shoved the last bite of the sandwich into his mouth.

Numbuh 1's eyes met his. The thought had crossed his mind, but the fear of him accidentally interrupting a fight of some kind made him turn the alternative down for now. "I don't want to do that, Numbuh 2," he told him. "I don't want to disturb anything. If they were in trouble they'd contact us."

"Unless something happened to them," Numbuh 2 said thoughtfully, getting up to bring his plate to the counter.

Numbuh 1 thought about it while leaving the kitchen. He headed back to his room. Maybe I should try to reach my team mates after all, he thought. Like Numbuh 2 said, what if something had happened to them? He grabbed his T.A.L.K.E.R. and tried to make contact. When there was no response from any of the three operatives his worry grew. He was now certain that something had happened. Maybe there had been a battle? It seemed likely, after all none of them had responded to his calls. He quickly left his room to find Numbuh 2. They had to leave immediately!

Numbuh 2 was in his room now, singing an old Elvis song to himself as he got back to his work on the S.K.Y.C.L.A.W.

Numbuh 1 rushed into his room short while after he again was standing with his head down in the engine. "Numbuh 2 – get ready, we're leaving right now!"

"What?" Numbuh 2 looked up at him with a frown. "Did you get any information from the others?"

"That's exactly what I _didn't_ get!" Numbuh 1 replied impatiently as he walked over to the mechanic. "I think something happened to them, otherwise they would have answered me! I have a feeling the Delightful Children are behind it. We're checking the mansion out. Common!"

"Okay, I think we should take the M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.O.," Numbuh 2 said, wiping his oil covered hands on a towel. "I just fixed it this morning. It's working perfectly."

"Alright, let's go!" ordered the leader as they both headed for the ship.

**In Father's living room:**

"You wanted to see us, Father?" the Delightful Children asked in unison, the shadows crawling across their expressionless faces. They looked up at the big comfortable chair facing away from them.

"Yes, my children," a dark voice replied from behind the chair. "You have done great today. I'm proud of you." The chair turned around slowly to face the five glassy blue eyed children. The shadows were even darker around Father's face, his eyes glowing red. "I suggest we deal with the three of them now before the two others show up to rescue them."

"You want _us_ to kill them?" the Children asked with their monotone voices.

Father's eyes narrowed. "We're not killing them just yet," he replied. "They are holding back on a lot of important information that we need. If they die we'll lose that." He turned his chair back away from the children. "I would like you to get that information out of them. It doesn't matter how you do it, as long as I get what I want. Do I make myself clear?"

The Delightful Children looked at each other with evil smiles on their faces. "Perfectly, Father." A monotone laughter followed.

It didn't take long before they were down in the creepy dungeon, staring at the three Kids Next Door operatives with their evil smiles. "Abigail, Kuki and Wallace," they said, sounding a little sympathetic, yet mocking at the same time. "Which one of you would like to go first?"

"It's Numbuh 4 to you, you losers!" Numbuh 4 yelled, clenching his fists.

"You ain't getting nothing out of this if that's what you're thinking!" Numbuh 5 told them with an irritated voice, waving them off.

"Oh, but we are, Abigail," they replied. "We just love to see you like this, you wild kids trapped behind bars in a cold dungeon."

"Jeez, you ought to get a new hobby!" Numbuh 4 grumbled at them. "Besides, we won't be trapped down here for long. Numbuh 1'll show up and get us outta here!"

"Think again, Wallace," the Delightfuls replied. "Nigel doesn't even know where you are. How could he possibly find you down here?" They smiled at him as if they knew he wouldn't have a proper answer to that.

"It's Numbuh 4!" he shouted, grabbing a hold of the bars to get as close to the irritating Delighfuls as possible. "Is that so hard for you to understand? Numbuh 4!"

"He'll figure it out somehow," Numbuh 5 said to answer the Delightful Children. "True, he hasn't been in this part of you're _precious_ mansion before, but he'll find it."

"You really don't realize how wrong you are, Abigail," the five Children muttered, shaking their heads in despair. "We're going to take care of you before Nigel even thinks about rescuing you." They turned their heads toward Numbuh 3. "How would you like to come with us for a while, Kuki? We've got a surprise for you."

Numbuh 3 stared at them. The she smiled. "What kind of surprise?"

"Don't listen to them, Numbuh 3," Numbuh 5 warned, getting back up on her feet. "It's a trick. They don't really have any surprise." She walked over to the Japanese girl, concerned about her ignorance. "You do remember what Numbuh 1 told you about them, don't you?"

Numbuh 3 grinned at her. "That they're a stupid bunch of losers that will stop at nothing in trying to trick us into spilling information?"

"Sss-something like that," Numbuh 5 replied with a cocked eyebrow. She turned to face the Delightful Children. "See, not even Numbuh 3 falls for your stupid tricks."

"It was not a trick, Abigail," they told her. "It was a simple suggestion. We _do_ have a surprise for you."

"Yeah, a certain death!" Numbuh 4 added with a sneer.

"Quite the contrary, Wallace," they replied monotonously. "Now, if we killed you we wouldn't have anybody to play with anymore, would we?" The five of them laughed at what they'd just said as if it had been a killer joke. Then they suddenly turned serious, glaring at their three enemies. "Enough talk. We're taking Kuki with us for a stroll."

"Oh, no, you're not!" Numbuh 4 snarled through clenched teeth, sounding rather threatening. He kept holding on the bars with a tight grip, brows lowered and emerald eyes burning with hatred. "You're taking her first because you know that she's the easiest one to crack!"

"Very well, Wallace." The Delightful Children stared him right in the eyes. "Then you will be the first one. Is that what you wish?"

Numbuh 4's face softened up a little bit as he suddenly realized what they'd just said. He knew that if they him took first the girls would be safe – for now… But he wasn't sure of what they'd do to him. He was on their turf now, weaponless and without a leader. The terrifying word _torture_ forced itself into his mind. No way, he thought. They didn't have the guts! Did they?

Suddenly a huge man dressed in an old-fashion hangman suit, his face masked, stepped into the dungeon. He stood beside the Delightfuls, staring at the three inferior kids in the cell.

"Say hello to Henry, Kids Next Door," The Delightful Children introduced with their evil smiles. "He will be your executioner for the day." Their smiles grew wider as they pointed at Numbuh 4. "Wallace would like to go first, Henry. Would you mind giving him a hand?"

Numbuh 4 backed away from the bars and gulped.

The Delightfuls handed the big man a key. He took it and went over to the cell with two long steps. Was it just Numbuh 5, or did the brick floor shake under their feet as he walked?

The big man turned the key in the lock and opened the door to the cell. He had to bend his back not to hit his head on the bars above the doorway. He was really a rather frightening sight, especially since his face was covered. He reached out for Numbuh 4 with a giant hand. The blond fighter dodged away from him, but he didn't get far. The mysterious man grabbed a hold of Numbuh 4's orange hood, hindering his getaway.

"Crud!" the Australian cried as he was being pulled away from his team mates. He tried to get back up on his feet so he could turn around and fight, but there was no way he could regain his balance at this speed. The man dragged him roughly out of the cell.

"Numbuh 4!" Numbuh 3 cried and tried in vain to follow his captor. The Delightful Children slammed the door shut and locked it. "No!" She grabbed the bars and shook the door. "You can't do this!"

"You just watch us, Kuki," they replied, lowering their heads to look up her with threatening eyes. "You just watch."

Henry was incredibly big and strong. Numbuh 4 was amazed by his strength. He groaned in pain as his butt was getting soar from being dragged over the cold, hard floor. Out of the dungeon, into the hallway, through another door. Henry lifted Numbuh 4 up in the air by his hood, causing the young Australian to choke, before he tossed him on the floor.

Numbuh 4 coughed to get his breath back. Then he stood up carefully, eyeing the big man. The man was just standing there. Numbuh 4 glanced around the old-fashion room and noticed a control table to his left. Weird, he thought. I didn't think there was any electricity down here.

"Make yourself comfortable, Wallace," the monotone voices of the Delightful Children chimed from the doorway, making him flinch. "Or maybe it won't be too comfortable after all." The blond Delightful Child in the front of the bunch held out a remote of some kind. He pressed a button, and suddenly four metal claws shot out from the wall behind Numbuh 4. All claws grabbed each their limb on the Australian boy and dragged him back to the wall. They turned him upside down and tightened around his wrists and ankles, leaving him hanging there.

"Quite impressive, don't you think?" the Delightful Children asked as they walked closer.

"What do you want?" Numbuh 4 asked with an irritated voice and lowered eyebrows.

"You see that big machine up in the ceiling there, Wallace?" they asked and glanced up. Numbuh 4 followed their eyes with his. "That is our new toy. It's called the MindReader 3000. We thought you'd be delighted to try it first."

"What?" Numbuh 4 raised an eyebrow at them, suddenly feeling how his head was filling up with blood. It was a very uncomfortable position, that was for sure.

"With this thing we can suck the information about you little organization out of your brain, or copy it, if you will," they explained. "We'll be able to see all of your thoughts. You see, we want more information about you and your friends, especially top secret information."

"And you wanted to bring Numbuh 3 in her first to steal top secret information?" Numbuh 4 asked with a sneer. "She doesn't even know what _top secret_ means!"

"We're going to use the machine on all of you, Wallace," the Delightfuls replied. "We had to start somewhere. And since Kuki usually would be willing to come with us without putting up a fight, we thought she was perfect. But it doesn't matter."

Numbuh 4 had to look to what was _down to him_ to see the machine in the ceiling. It was big, and it looked pretty much like a big vacuum cleaner in metal. He glanced back at the Delightful Bunch in front of him. They were smiling _delightfully_. "Just one more question," he started. "Why the crud am I hanging upside down?"

"It's quite simple, really," they replied. "It's so your brain will get a lot of pressure on it. That way it'll be easier to suck information from it. Besides, it is very satisfying seeing you like this, Wallace. So helpless, so clueless."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again – get a new hobby!" Numbuh 4 grumbled and stared at them with angry eyes. His feet were getting cold now that the blood was leaving them. It was very uncomfortable hanging like that. He knew he was about to get very, very angry.

The Delightful Children didn't reply to that. The blond Child with the remote pressed another button. A loud noise was heard from the ceiling as the machine reacted to its master's command. It lowered a big pipe with a round bowl-shaped end. The bowl-shaped metal end looked a little like a helmet of some kind.

Numbuh 4 stared at it in disbelief as it moved closer to his head. When it was about to place itself on his head, he stretched his neck, maneuvering away from the helmet.

"Don't move, you imbecile!" the Delightful Children yelled at him. "It'll all be over soon, and it won't hurt… _that much_!"

The last two words made Numbuh 4 frown. He tried to escape the helmet again, but this time it got him. It placed itself on his head. He tried to shake it off, but it was as if it was glued to the top of his head. He groaned with anger and tried to break his arms free from the claws, but it was impossible. They started to hurt around his wrists instead. He suddenly felt how the helmet started to hurt his head. It was as if it was squeezing his head roughly.

The Delightful Children stared at the poor Australian boy as he squirmed to break free, which to them was a rather _delightful_ sight. They had satisfied smiles on their faces, the dark marks around their eyes seemed to grow darker.

The helmet seemed to tighten its grip around Numbuh 4 head even more, it started to hurt him now. He let out a cry of pain and squeezed his eyes shut. It felt like the helmet was digging itself into his brain, squeezing it. He clenched his teeth and tried to hold back a howl of pain and anger. It somehow managed to escape his lips anyhow. When would it all stop? He tightened every muscle in his body, feeling how it grew weaker by the minute. He cried out again.

Finally, the Delightful Child with the remote pressed another button, the very button that made the helmet stop hurting Numbuh 4's head and return to its place in the ceiling with the rest of the machine. They sent Numbuh 4 a last wicked smile before they turned around and walked over to the control table on the left side of the room. They pressed a few buttons and stared at a screen that was installed in the table. All that Numbuh 4 knew about the Kids Next Door was saved on the computer of the control table, could the screen confirm. They smiled to themselves again, satisfied with the process, before they turned around to face Numbuh 4.

Numbuh 4 was drained from his powers, now hanging on the wall with his eyes shut, breathing heavily.

"You know amazingly lot more than expected, Wallace," the Delightful Children chimed. "Maybe you're not so stupid after all. What do you think of our machine? Impressive?"

Numbuh 4 opened his eyes enough to see them. The room seemed to spin. He felt ill and noticed how the pizza he had eaten this morning was on its way back up again. His head was still aching, his stomach twisting.

"You look awful, Wallace," the Delightful Children remarked monotonously. "Maybe you need to lie down while we let your little girlfriends out in the cell have just as much fun with the MindReader as you had."

Numbuh 4 thought about what they had said. They were going to do the same thing to Numbuh 3! He couldn't let them do that! "Don't you dare touch Numbuh 3!" he warned with a weary, yet angry voice.

The Delightful Children stared at him blankly for a moment before they understood why he'd said just that. They smiled their delightfully wicked smile again. "That's right, you have a thing for Kuki, don't you? We'll take good care for her, Wallace, don't you worry about that." They snickered at him and turned to face the big man, who had been standing by the door this whole time with his arms crossed. "Henry, would you please show Wallace the way out? And make sure he won't vomit on the floor. Father wouldn't like that!" The Child in the front pressed another button on the remote which made the four claws that held the KND operative to the wall open and drop the power-drained fighter to the floor.

Numbuh 4 clenched his teeth at the painful fall from the wall to the stony ground beneath him, where he now was laying on his stomach. He groaned as he tried to push himself up with his arms, but they wouldn't obey. The painful experience with the MindReader 3000 had drained out most of his strength.

The big, masked man made his way over to the blond boy the floor, bending over to pick him up by his hoodie. He roughly lifted him from the floor and carried him out of the room. Numbuh 4 didn't bother to do anything, even though he actually could squirm out of his hoodie and escape the big man. But he realized he wouldn't get far without more energy. He pushed the thought of escaping away as he was carried back into the dungeon.

"Numbuh 4?" Numbuh 5 hoarsely whispered. Her voice was shaking.

The masked man unlocked the door and threw Numbuh 4 into the cell. The blond boy landed on his hands and knees, letting himself fall to the floor as the pain shoot through him.

The girls didn't bother to try and escape now that the door was open. It was quickly closed anyways as the big man slammed it shut and once again locked it before walking away. The girls just stared at their team mate with fear and sorrow. Numbuh 5 kneeled next to him.

"Wally?" Numbuh 3's voice was stifled with sobs and tears had gathered in her eyes. She held her green sleeved-covered hands in front of her mouth as she slowly walked over to Numbuh 4. With a sigh of sorrow she kneeled next to him as well, carefully touching his shoulder.

"What happened?" Numbuh 5 asked with a low voice. "We heard you scream."

"What did they do to you, Wally?" Numbuh 3 asked, bending down to see his face.

Numbuh 4 let his eyes meet hers for a second before he shut them again and tried to push himself up in a seated position. It was harder than expected. The girls grabbed one of his arms each and helped him up. He muttered some curse words under his breath and clenched his teeth.

"You're a mess," Numbuh 5 whispered to him. "What happened?"

"T-they have this… uh, machine thingy," Numbuh 4 managed to force out in a whisper through his gritted teeth. "I-it reads your mind and… s-steal information out of you brain… and it drains your body for energy."

Numbuhs 3 and 5 exchanged looks. Then they stared at their team mate again. They kept holding on to him so he wouldn't drop to the floor. Numbuh 3 bit her lower lip anxiously. Numbuh 5 glanced out of the cell to check if anybody was watching them. She suddenly got this creepy feeling…

Suddenly, the Delightful Children stepped into the dungeon, staring directly into the cell with their glassy blue eyes.

Numbuh 5 wrinkled her nose at them, seeing as her feeling was right. She hated to see them standing there, glaring at her and her friends as if they were wild animals trapped behind bars, the bars that separated her from her freedom. "What ya'll want?" she asked with an irritated tone. "Haven't you gotten enough pleasure for a week?"

They didn't say anything, just letting their smiling muscles pull up half a smile on their other so expressionless faces.

"You hurt him, you monsters!" Numbuh 3 yelled and lowered her eyebrows at them. "You can just wipe those stupid smiles off you faces!"

"He had it coming," the Delightful Children replied quickly. "First of all, we got the information we wanted, second, we got to see him squirm with pain! It was _delightful_!"

"You guys are nasty, you know that?" Numbuh 5 hissed at them and let go of Numbuh 4's arm as she got up on her feet.

Still with the smiles on their faces, the Delightful Children just snickered. "Luckily for you, we decided to take Kuki with us before you, _Abigail_!" Their smiles faded as they said that, leaving their faces in the cold expressions that reflected their ice cold soles.

"What evuh, it doesn't matter to Numbuh 5!" she replied and pointed at herself with a thumb. "Besides, you might want to take Numbuh 5 first anyway."

"Really?" the five Delightfuls asked without much enthusiasm. "Well, we've already made up our mind. Kuki's going first."

Numbuh 4 gathered all the strength he had left in his body and stood up on two unsteady legs. "Don't even think about it, you Delightful Losers!" he snarled at them. "You touch her, you die! I'm not even close to kidding!"

"It's nice to see that you've made the way to recovery so quickly, Wallace," the Delightful Children said with their monotone voices. "Maybe you'd like another round with the MindReader, so we could find out why you're so overprotective of your little girlfriend? Or was that your secret, Wallace? That she's your girlfriend?"

Numbuh 4 lowered his head with his emerald eyes burning threatening at them. "She's not my girlfriend! And for your information, you Delightful Dorks, I'm just doing my job! It's my job to watch over my team mates!" He clenched his fists, suddenly feeling that there wasn't much energy left in his body and that he most likely had to sit back down again soon.

"Face it, Wallace," his enemies chimed. "You've barely got enough strength to stand upright. You can't possibly try to beat us!"

Numbuh 4 bit his lip, knowing that they were right. I hate it when they're right, he thought angrily. I am weak. Oh, Numbuh 1, where the crud are you?

**Up in the wild blue:**

"Step on it, Numbuh 2!" Numbuh 1 ordered the pilot. "I'm afraid we're running out of time."

"Aye, aye, sir," Numbuh 2 replied, speeding up the vehicle. The Delightful Children's mansion soon came into view. He slowed down and landed the ship in the backyard of the mansion. Numbuhs 1 and 2 got out quickly with their weapons close to their chests. Numbuh 2 was wearing a backpack filled with 2x4 technologies that could or could not come in handy if a battle broke loose.

"Common!" Numbuh 1 whispered to the mechanic. "We have to find a way inside."

Running up to the wall, Numbuh 1 checked for any signs of life around in the yard. When he confirmed that the coast was clear, he turned his rocket boots on and hovered up to one of the windows. The room inside was left in complete darkness. The switched the rocket boots off again and landed softly on his feet. He turned to Numbuh 2. "I think we can break an entrance here," he said, pointing at the window.

"Discreetly or… not so discreetly?" Numbuh 2 asked, slipping his arm out of the right strap of the backpack and leaned the weight of it on his left shoulder. He stuck his free arm down in it and started to fumble around after something he could use to break in with.

Numbuh 1 cocked an eyebrow at him. "Discreetly would be nice," he muttered with a stern voice.

Numbuh 2 giggled nervously as he noticed he'd brought the wrong equipment for a discreet break-in. "Well, I've… I don't have anything like that today…"

"What?" Numbuh 1 sighed in despair. "Alright, so what do you have?"

Numbuh 2 pulled out a W.A.L.L.B.L.A.S.T.

**Weapon/vehicle interruption:**

Kids Next Door W.A.L.L.B.L.A.S.T.

Walls Are Likely Loudly Bombed Leaving A Serious Termination.

**Now ending weapon/vehicle interruption…**

I've got this," Numbuh 2 said, holding out the bomb that was made by two bottles stuck together filled with thick grease mixed with baking powder. It wouldn't go off unless it was winded.

"It'll have to do," Numbuh 1 said. "I'm afraid that if we won't act quickly we might lose the others."

Numbuh 2 stuck the W.A.L.L.B.L.A.S.T. to the wall, winded it and cleared the area. Numbuh 1 followed right behind him. The wall was blasted open in a giant hole.

"Wow, I wasn't aware it'd be _that_ loud!" Numbuh 1 exclaimed and examined the hole.

"It's a prototype," Numbuh 2 replied. "I'm still testing it. And it worked perfectly!" He grinned at his leader and gave him two thumbs up. "I don't wanna brag or nothing, but I must say that this invention was a real _blast_!" He laughed at his own lame joke and followed his resigned leader through the hole in the wall.

They kept close to the walls, making sure their bodies remained hidden in the darkness and out of the daylight that so bashfully shined through the windows. Numbuh 1 led them down a dark hallway. He stopped and glanced into a familiar room. Father's living room. Father's voice was heard from inside.

"I need you to check the trophy room," his voice said stressfully. "I heard something out there. I'm not paying you to sit on you asses, you know!" He was talking on the phone with some of his servants.

Suddenly, Numbuh 1 noticed some movement over by the bookshelf. To his surprise, it opened! The Delightful Children came walking out from a secret passage behind it. The bookshelf closed right behind them. They walked up to Father's armchair.

"We're here, Father," they said in unison.

Father turned his chair around to face them, his red eyes burning with fury in his dark face. "They're here!" he shouted at them, making them all flinch. "Get ready for battle, and make sure you finish off the others right away!"

"Yes, Father!" they replied.

"I'm going to go check the trophy room myself," Father growled. "You do what you're supposed to, and then come back to me, understood?"

"Yes, Father," they repeated and watched as Father got up. He headed for the door with quick steps.

Numbuh 1 gasped and pulled his head back out of the open doorway. He motioned for Numbuh 2 to follow him behind the big drapes that covered the windows in the dark hallway.

Father left the room and disappeared down the hall.

Numbuh 1 peeked out to see if the coast was clear. Then he hopped out from his hiding place and went over to the door of Father's living room again. He could see the Delightful Children as they walked through the now open bookshelf. Then he made a quick motion with his hand to get Numbuh 2 to follow him. They quickly, but silently ran over to the bookshelf and stared into the hidden passage. It was poorly lit up by a torch on the wall further down the stony stairs. The Delightful Children was already on their way down.

The bookshelf was open long enough for the two KND operatives to skip inside. You know, those two-three extra seconds the heroes in cartoons always gets to follow the bad guys through a door they're not actually supposed to enter, in order to save the day.

Numbuh 1 looked at the pilot and put a finger over his mouth to tell his team mate to be quiet. Then he silently started to make his way down the stairs, Numbuh 2 right behind him. The two boys weren't sure of what they'd find in the end of those stairs. All they knew was that this secret passage had something to do with their lost team mates, and so help them God, they were going to find out! But they had no idea it would turn out as it did.


	3. Kuki the Spy?

**Disclaimer:**Still ain't mine.

**A/N:**Update! Read it! Read it now!

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 3**

Numbuh 1 was completely silent as he made his way down the stair, with Numbuh 2 right behind. The Delightful Children walked faster than them, and they had now disappeared down a long hallway. Numbuh 1 stared down the hallway, surprised to see what the mansion's sublevel actually looked like. He thought it resembled the hall that led to an old dungeon, but he wasn't sure if it was supposed to be that.

Numbuh 2 made a face as he suddenly noticed the bad smell down there. His left eye twitched and he stuck his tongue out. "Whoa," he whispered. "What the heck is this place anyway?" He let his eyes examine the hallway as the two boys slowly made their way through it.

"If I'm not mistaking, this is some sort of a dungeon," the leader replied, sliding his shades back up on his nose with one finger. "Mind your step, Numbuh 2. It's quite dark down here." He glanced up at another torch on the wall. A few more of them poorly lit up the hall.

"Are you sure this is where the others are?" the pilot asked, persistently trying to disguise his trembling voice. He was afraid of this creepy place. It wasn't shocking to him that the Delightful Children had a dungeon in their basement, he just hadn't thought about it before. The thought of his friends now being held prisoners in a cold cell made a chill go down his spine.

Numbuh 1 glanced at him before he took a step further down the hall. "Yes, didn't you hear what Father said? He told the Delightful Brats to finish off our team mates before we arrived. Would they go down here to finish off the others if they weren't even down here?"

Numbuh 2 giggled nervously. "Good point." He flinched as his leader grabbed a hold of his arm and started to pull him down the hallway.

"I think I heard something," Numbuh 1 told him. "Common, we've got to hurry!"

Numbuh 2 glanced down at his leader's hand, still holding a tight grip around his wrist as they ran. I can run on my own, he thought with a sneer. But this was no time to start aggravating about his leader. He had to be alert incase they were about to face a battle.

Suddenly, slowing down as they reached a doorway, Numbuh 1 let go of Numbuh 2's wrist, before he carefully made his way over to the doorway. The room inside was pretty dark, but he managed to see that it was an old dungeon – just as he'd thought. He pressed his lips together as he thought about the dungeon and its capabilities. He quickly pulled his head back out of the doorway as he noticed the Delightful Children standing, faced partly away from him, in front of a cell of some kind.

"We're doing this, and where doing it now!" the Delightful Children said with stressed voices. "Don't make us do this the hard way, Abigail!"

"Oh, so what happened to your little We're-taking-Numbuh-3-first plan?" Numbuh 5's voice asked suspiciously. She was standing in the corner of the cell, facing the big, masked man. She managed to dodge away from his giant hands every time he reached out to grab her.

"We changed our mind!" The Delightful Children replied shortly. "Grab her, Henry, you idiot!"

Finally, he got a grip around the dark girl's shoulders. She yelled surprised as he lifted her from the floor, and kicked her feet rapidly.

"You ain't taking Numbuh 5 nowhere!" she screamed. She tried to in vain squirm out of the two big hands that were hurting her shoulders. He was way to strong for her. She actually had a feeling why they were taking her first after all. The only explanation to their weird behavior could only mean one thing – Numbuh 1 was here. And as they were not sure if they had enough time to drain both of the female operatives' brains for information before a battle broke loose, they took her first, because she clearly had more information under that crimson red hat than Numbuh 3 did.

Numbuh 4 was still trying to gather his strength, but he managed to get up to his feet again and clenching his fists. "Leave her alone, you fat gorilla!" he shouted at the big, masked man.

"Relax, Wallace," the Delightful Children chimed at him. "You don't want Henry to get angry with you, do you? He's not afraid of _killing_ little kids like you, you know."

"I don't give a crud!" Numbuh 4 yelled angrily. "Let her go now!"

Still trying to escape the big hands, Numbuh 5 searched the dungeon for anything that could get her to think of a plan. She suddenly let her eyes stop over by the doorway as she noticed something lurking in the shadows. She quickly recognized the bald head and the shades, even though it was very well hidden. With a relieved smile, her face lit up. She suddenly thought of something to say: "Everything's just peachy, Numbuh 4." She looked over at the Delightful Children with a tricky smile on her face. "The Delightful Dorks forgot to tell us one very important thing."

The Delightful Children stared at her with annoyed looks on their faces, their blue eyes ordering her to tell them what she was talking about.

Still with the tricky grin on her face, Numbuh 5 glanced over to the doorway again, taking a breath before she said; "We're having visitors."

And just as she'd said that, Numbuh 1 jumped in through the door and fired a shot at the big man holding Numbuh 5, causing him to drop her to the floor. Numbuh 2 fired a shot towards the Delightful Children, but he missed.

"Nigel Uno?" the Delightful Children exclaimed. "What are you doing here? There are no ways down here other than the hidden passage in Father's living room!"

"Exactly!" Numbuh 1 replied. "It's not hidden well enough!"

The five Delightfuls growled at Numbuh 1. "Henry, get them!" they ordered the man with the mask and pointed at the leader of the KND unit.

Numbuh 1 fired another shot at the mysterious man as he left the cell, the Delightful Children slamming the door shut behind him. The man walked closer to Numbuhs 1 and 2. The shots didn't seem to have much effect on him. Numbuh 1 frowned and glanced at the gumball gun in his hand. When he looked back up, the big man loomed over him with narrowed eyes at the British boy through the eyeholes in his mask. Numbuh 1 let out a tiny nervous giggle, hiding the gun behind his back. "So…you go skiing a lot?"

The man didn't answer, not that anyone had expected him to. He just reached out for Numbuh 1 with a big hand. Numbuh 2 tried to cover his leader's back by firing his S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. at the man, but it wasn't of much help. The man shook it off and grabbed a hold of the two boys.

"No!" Numbuh 4 shouted and grabbed on to the bars inside the cell.

Numbuhs 1 and 2 were lifted up in the air by the collars of their shirts. Numbuh 1 tried to kick his captor, but his legs weren't long enough to hit him from this distance. The masked man carried the two operatives over to the cell that held the three others prisoners. He threw them inside when the Delightful Children opened the door.

They hit the stony floor with a groan of pain, Numbuh 1's knees were scrubbed up pretty bad as his beige khaki shorts didn't reach far enough down his legs to cover them. Numbuh 2 let himself fall to his stomach.

Numbuh 3 was sitting in the corner, watching everything with a pale face, her green sleeved-covered hands pressed against her cheeks. Numbuh 4'd had to sit back down again as he didn't have merely enough strength to try and fight his way out of the cell, which actually had been his intention. Numbuh 5 was standing quietly in the other corner, where she had been dropped on the hard floor.

"Take their weapons!" the Delightful Children ordered. "We don't want to risk them trying to escape, now, do we?"

Numbuh 2's backpack was taken as well along with their weapons. The masked man roughly tugged it off of the pilot's back.

"This is not over!" Numbuh 1 warned the Delightful Children, turning around on his scrubbed knees to face them. "We'll find a way outta here!"

"Face it, Nigel," the Delightfuls replied. "You're out of supplies, your stupid fighter is down and you're going to cause your little organizations doom when we're finished with you. Just think of all the information you're holding back on!"

"I'm not telling you anything!" Numbuh 1 hissed, standing up and clenching his fists.

"You don't have to _tell_ us anything, Nigel," they told him with their wicked smiles. "We're _taking_ it ourselves! But we'll get back to that. Now we have to tell Father about the wonderful news. He'll me most pleased with us." They turned around and left the dungeon quickly. The masked man followed after them, leaving the five Kids Next Door operatives alone behind the bars.

"Now what?" Numbuh 2 asked and stood up, brushing dust off of his pants.

Numbuh 1 searched the dungeon outside the bars with his eyes. "Let's see if we can think of a plan," he replied glancing back at his team. His eyes rested on Numbuh 4. "Wow, Numbuh 4, you look awful!"

"Yeah, no kidding," the blond Aussie muttered and lowered his head.

"They have this machine, Numbuh 1," Numbuh 5 explained. "It's called the MindReader 3000, and it sucks our thoughts, memories and such out of our brains. What those snot-nosed Delightful Brats want is our information on the Kids Next Door. This probably didn't come as a shock to you."

"Not really," Numbuh 1 replied with a frown, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So they took Numbuh 4 first," Numbuh 5 continued. "Not only does their stupid machine steal information, it takes your energy as well. If you'd seen him earlier you would have understood what Numbuh 5's talking about."

"I'll be fine," Numbuh 4 said, waving it off. "We have to find a way out!"

"Yeah, there's gotta be a way to get out of here somehow," Numbuh 2 agreed, glancing around the dark cell. His eyes rested on the bars that separated the cell from the rest of the dungeon. "Hey, Numbuh 1. Take a look at those bars. Do you think one of us could try to squeeze out between them?"

The leader lowered his shades as he followed Numbuh 2's eyes. He lowered his eyebrows in thought. "I'm not sure. It's a tight squeeze, that's for certain. I don't think I could do it."

"No, I was thinking of Numbuh 3," Numbuh 2 said. "She's the skinny one."

Numbuh 3 looked up as she heard her name being mentioned. "What? You want me to get out through those bars?" She pointed at the bars on the door. "I don't think I can do it."

"Well, it's worth a shot," Numbuh 2 said, shrugging at the Japanese girl in the corner.

Numbuh 3 stared at the bars. She didn't think she'd be able to do it, but she thought she'd give it a try – for the sake of the team. She got up, her legs shaking. Making her way over to the other side of the cell, she started to think of all the reasons why she should do this. Everybody wanted to get out, Numbuh 4's condition was bad and he needed to get back to the Treehouse, and she herself really wanted to get back to her room so she could check on her stuffed animals and make sure they all were okay. She looked back at Numbuh 5 before she grabbed the bars in her sleeve-covered hands.

"Don't worry, Numbuh 3," Numbuh 5 said. "You can do this without any problems at all."

Numbuh 3 tried to get one foot out first, the left one. No problem. But she was worried about her torso. What is she got stuck? She tried to slide her skinny body between the tight bars. She seemed to get stuck at some point, uttering a tiny cry. But she kept forcing her body through.

"Common, Numbuh 3!" Numbuh 4 exclaimed. "You're almost out!"

"It's alright, Numbuh 3," Numbuh 1 assured her. "We're right her to help you if you get stuck."

Her body got through, though her lower back hurt pretty bad. Now she only had to get the right foot and her head out. The head was the worst part. She got stuck for a second, but managed to get it out too. She jumped up and down with a grin on her face. "Yay, I did it!"

"Right on, Numbuh 3," Numbuh 1 said, pleased with her effort. "All you have to do now is get the key to the cell. Those snot-nosed Delightful Dorks have it. It's going to be a difficult task, but we have faith in you. You have to get up there unnoticed and steal the key."

"Okay, Numbuh 1!" she said eagerly, her eyes wide with enthusiasm. "I can do it, count on me!" She turned around and skipped out of the dungeon.

"Be careful!" Numbuh 4 called after her.

"Okay, Wally!" came the reply from the hallway outside.

Numbuh 3 knew what to do. And she knew how to do it. She was starting to plan how to get the key for the cell while skipping away on the hard floor, humming to herself, as she liked to do when she was on her own. She made it to the stairs. There she stopped to listen, to make sure no one was around to hear her. When she knew that the coast was clear, she climbed the stairs. She let her eyes search the brick door at the top.

How do I get out of here? she thought. As that thought crossed mind, she saw a button made of metal on the wall to her right. That's gotta be the way out, she thought with a grin. She quickly pressed the button and the door started to move. It opened slowly, revealing Father's lounge. She was happy to see that she was this close to being free.

The room was empty, luckily for her. Not that she thought about it, she just got out of the doorway, skipping into the big lounge. Then she left the room, walking into the hallway outside of it. She listened for footsteps or voices to make sure she wouldn't get caught. When she reached the doorway of the trophy room, she stopped as she heard a voice inside. She peeked into the room from the open door.

"I want this room cleaned up by tonight!" Father's voice ordered. He was standing in a dark corner, holding his pipe in the hand. 5-6 men were working on putting the wall back up again, which Numbuhs 1 and 2 had blasted open earlier.

Numbuh 3 couldn't see the Delightfuls anywhere. Then where were they? She tip-toed passed the room and continued down the hall until she came to the big hall with the stairs that led up to the second story. She quickly looked around, just to be sure nobody was watching, before she headed up the stairs. Everything was quiet up there, except for a low roar of a TV, but that didn't stop her from snooping around. Suddenly, a voice was heard. No, there were five voices! The Delightful Children were close.

As quietly as possible, Numbuh 3 tip-toed down the dark hallway filled with doors. She stopped when the voices were very close. They were talking to each other about something. She couldn't quite work out the words. She peeked into the room the voices came from. There they were! Sitting with their backs turned against her on a couch, watching TV at a low volume.

What was that big shiny metal thingy on the little end table next to the couch? The key!

This ought to be easy, Numbuh 3 thought as her eyes studied the key on the table. They were actually stupid enough to leave it right there. Of course, they had no idea Numbuh 3 was running around in the mansion right now. They thought all of the Kids Next Door operatives were safely locked up in the dungeon, so it was obvious they had nothing to worry about.

It didn't take Numbuh 3 long to carefully sneak up to the back of the couch, crouching down next to the little table and quietly sliding her hand across the polished table top. With no sound at all, she picked the key up by two fingers and slid her hand back. She smiled to herself.

I'm a spy now, just like Numbuh 5, she thought happily. She grasped her hands around the key to make sure she wouldn't lose it. Then she turned around and hunched her back while sneaking back out of the room. When she was by the top of the stairs again, she suddenly heard angry voices from the room she'd just left.

"Where's the key?" they shouted.

"Uh-oh!" Numbuh 3 whispered to herself and started to run down the stairs. She heard footsteps behind her. The Delightfuls were after her! She didn't stop to check, she knew they where chasing her.

"Come back here!" they shouted after her from the top of the stairs.

Numbuh 3 kept running. She ran down the hall and back into Father's living room. She stopped by the bookcase, which now was closed again. How do you work this thing? Her breath was heaving, her hands tightly gripped around the big key, as her eyes searched the books frantically. She didn't know what to do, or what book to pull out. She just started to pull out all of the books with her sleeve-covered hands. "Common! Common!" she whimpered. Finally she got a hold of the right book, the book that made the bookcase open again. "Yes!"

The Delightful Children where on their way now. Numbuh 3 didn't even want to know how close they were to catching up with her. She just ran through the open doorway and nearly flew down the stairs. Her skinny legs where trembling, they could hardly keep the little girl up now. She ran as fast as she possibly could through the long hallway that led to the dungeon. It seemed so horribly long this time!

Finally she reached the dungeon. She was gasping for air as she slowed down in front of the door of bars that held her friends captured.

"You did it?" Numbuh 1 asked, smiling hopefully.

Numbuh 3 quickly slammed the key into the lock, turned it and heard the door unlock with a loud _click_.

The four others cheered and got out of the cell.

"Nice piece of work, Numbuh 3!" Numbuh 5 announced with a smile.

"Hurry!" Numbuh 3 said stressfully, ignoring the cheering. "They're coming!"

"Don't worry about them, Numbuh 3," Numbuh 2 said. "We're ready to fight now."

"But we don't have no weapons," Numbuh 5 said, frowning at her team mates. "We have to find them first."

"There's no time!" Numbuh 1 said sternly. "We have to fight them back with whatever equipment we can find in here."

"Yeah, let's give 'em a real ass woopin'!" Numbuh 4 exclaimed, slamming his fist into his hand. He was feeling a lot better now, although he should have slept for a few hours to regain full strength. He was a bit lightheaded, but ignored it.

All the operatives searched the dark room for weapons. Numbuh 1 climbed up the brick wall to pick the torch down. "Quickly, team," he ordered. "Grab a weapon, anything at all. We have to get going." He lifted the torch so it would light the room up more.

Numbuh 2 found a wooden broom in a corner. "This'll do," he muttered to himself.

Numbuh 4 picked up some old strips of chain. There were three of them, a perfect amount. He handed each of the girls a jingling strip of chain. "Slam this in the faces of those Delightful Losers!" he exclaimed with an evil grin as he handed Numbuh 3 one of them. "It'll make them shut the crud up at least! I'll show them what happens when they mess with me!"

"Alright, Kids Next Door," Numbuh 1 said, taking a look at all the operatives to make sure they all were ready to go. "Let's go teach those Delightful Brats a lesson!" He led the way out of the cell, the flames on his torch flickering.

Why aren't they following after me all the way down here? Kuki thought to herself. I thought they would, I thought they wanted to hinder me in letting my team out of the cell. So why aren't they here? She felt very uncomfortable about the thought, a chill went down her spine. She actually thought hard about situations like this one, even though nobody thought she did. She was scared of what would happen. She was happy to know that Numbuh 4 was back on his feet, ready to fight when danger was near. For some reason, she always felt better around Numbuh 4, like as if he was there to protect her no matter what. She shook her head as if she was trying to get rid of the thought. She thought it probably didn't mean anything, other than the facts that Numbuh 4 was a really good friend.

Numbuh 1 continued to lead the way to the stairs, followed by the pilot. Numbuh 5 was right behind Numbuh 2, clenching the chain in her hands, straightening it out so it wouldn't make a sound. Numbuhs 3 and 4 were walking side by side behind her. Numbuh 3 was looking concerned, biting her lower lip, her chestnut eyes on the stairway that now was right in front of them. Numbuh 4's eyes were hidden behind his blond bangs, his lips pressed tightly together as if he was concentrating hard on getting his revenge.

The leader did not feel like standing there in front of the stairs, hesitating, although that's exactly what he ended up doing. It was as if a part of him told him not to go up there. Don't be silly, Nigel, he told himself. This is the only way out. We have to climb these stairs whether you like it or not. He shook the bad feeling off, starting to walk up the stairs. The others hadn't really thought about the fact that their leader had hesitated for a second, they just followed him up the stairs. Numbuh 1 stopped in front of the door and searched for a doorknob or something like that to make it open.

"Press the button," Numbuh 3 told him a few steps below.

"What button?" he asked, letting his vacant hand slide across the stony surface of the door. "There's no button on it."

"I'll do it," Numbuh 3 said resigned, forcing her way passed Numbuhs 2 and 5. She looked at Numbuh 1. "Move it, Big Butt." She let out a giggle, finding her joke rather amusing. Numbuh 1 stepped back, rolling his eyes behind his shades as Numbuh 3 pressed the button on the wall. The door began to open. To their horrible surprise, the Delightful Children were waiting for them on the other side of it. They were inside one of their machines, one of the smaller ones, so it could fit inside the room without breaking anything.

"Congratulations, Kids Next Door," they said in unison. "You found the way out. Too bad you're going right back down there!" This machine also had one of those metal claws. It now shot out to grab the Kids Next Door operatives.

"Down!" Numbuh 5 shrieked. They all managed to duck down in time, as the claw passed right over their heads. Then they all spread out.

"Kids Next Door-," Numbuh 1 shouted, raising the torch. "Battlestations!" Too bad for him, the torch would now be useless. Well, not completely useless… He couldn't throw it at those pesky Delightfuls to protect himself now that they were safely concealed behind their glass cage, but he could start a fire in the lounge to get their attention away from his team.

Numbuh 4 slammed his chain against the thick glass cage on the machine. "This is how I feel about you using that cruddy machine on me, you dorks!" he screamed angrily, his eyebrows lowered. The Delightfuls steered the claw directly at him. He moved away just in time not to get caught by it.

"Alright!" Numbuh 5 shouted. "Let's see if you dare to mess with Numbuh 5!" She threw her chain towards the glass cage. To her surprise, she had managed to break the glass a little.

"Hey, you're not supposed to do that!" the Delightful Children yelled at her.

"Oh, yeah?" she said with an evil grin. "Watch Numbuh 5!" She quickly grabbed the first thing she came across – a flowerpot. She threw it at the glass cage, breaking some more of it.

"Stop that!" The Delightful Children now steered the claw for the African-American girl.

Numbuh 4 took the hint. This was a maneuver, a chance for them to break the glass while Numbuh 5 kept the Delightful Children busy. He threw his chain at the glass, thrilled to see how he managed to break even more of it. He looked over at Numbuh 3, who was standing right next to him. "Kuki, throw it!" he called, pointing at her chain.

"Okay," she replied with a grin. She threw the chain as hard as possible at the glass cage. It broke completely this time. The shattering glass showered over the Delightfuls, causing them to shout in shock.

Numbuh 2 threw his broom at them now that the shot was clear. "Thought you guys needed to get _cleaned_ up!" he exclaimed, smiling triumphantly at his joke.

None of this seemed to have enough effect on the Delightful Children to make them leave the Kids Next Door operatives alone. They fired a shot at Numbuh 2, but missed as he had read the next move they were going to make and dodged away. They growled angrily and fired more shots after their enemies.

It was Numbuh 1's turn now. He moved closer to the machine, and threw the torch into the now open cockpit. The fabrics caught fire quickly, and soon the entire cockpit was covered in flames. The Delightful Children shouted frantically, trying to get out of their burning machine.

"This is it!" Numbuh 5 shouted. "Time to leave, people!" She started to run, the others followed right behind her.

"We did it!" Numbuh 3 cheered, shooting her sleeve-covered hands in the air.

"Whatever, just run!" Numbuh 4 replied, increasing speed.

They all got out of the mansion's front door, running to the back of it. They were getting on the M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.O. to fly back to the Treehouse.

"Hurry up!" Numbuh 1 said as he reached the door of the ship, opening it. "We don't want Father to stalk us, now, do we?" He ran inside. All the others got in quickly, shutting the door behind them.

Numbuh 2 sat down by the wheel. "Let's go!" He started the ship, carefully, but quickly flying them outta there.


	4. The confession of a lifetime

**Disclaimer:** Do I really have to repeat myself? It's getting old… Oh, well, I'm not taking any chances… Codename: Kids Next Door is not mine!

**A/N:** Wow, I'm updating today, too! This chapter is a bit short, because… well, it just is. Brace yourself, guys! It's getting serious now!

Warning: This chapter contains lots and lots of 3/4 fluff!

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 4**

Back in the Treehouse, all the operatives spread out to go to their rooms for some well-deserved rest. Numbuh 1 thought it was best if he left the team alone for a few hours while they collected their thoughts, before holding the meeting about the Delightful Children From Down the Lane and their MindReader 3000. The organization was in danger now that they knew all Numbuh 4 knew about the Kids Next Door.

He walked into his room, slipping down on his chair in front of his computer. He needed to e-mail Numbuh 362 about this. He hoped she could do something about the situation, like changing a few passwords that Numbuh 4 was familiar with. Unfortunately, nothing could be done about what Numbuh 4 knew about the history of Kids Next Door and his fellow operatives. The Delightful Children would now know more about Sector V than ever, discovering certain fears and weaknesses they before didn't know about.

Meanwhile, Numbuh 4 lied down get some rest in his wrestling ring. He was exhausted, and not to mention furious with the Delightful Children for what they had done to him. He felt better now, knowing that he'd gotten his revenge upon them, with help form his team. Though he didn't feel _that_ good. He knew that his enemies now had all the information about the Kids Next Door that he knew of. It was a creepy thought. They knew _all_ about him now! They even knew about his crush on Numbuh 3, which for them was a weakness of his. They knew about his family now, too. They knew what he thought about his friends, knew what he'd been feeling about them over the time they'd been a team. They knew everything now!

Numbuh 4 groaned resigned, feeling rather helpless. They know my favorite food, my favorite TV shows, they even know what scares me, he thought. His eyes widened with fear as he suddenly realized they had all of his memories on their computer as well. He knew that they did, he just hadn't thought about it before now. All his humiliating moments where saved on it, too! He blushed to himself as a number of embarrassing images flew through his mind.

"Crud!" he muttered to himself, slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand. He suddenly started to fear that the Delightful Children would tell Numbuh 3 about his feelings for her, and they'd only screw everything up. What if Numbuh 3 wouldn't like to know? He started to think it probably was better if he took matters into his own hands by telling her about it himself. He raised his eyebrows, fearing her reaction. What if she likes me back? What if she feels the same way I do? Then everything would be okay. But if she didn't like him like that, if she'd reject him, he knew that he would never forgive himself for actually telling her.

"Numbuh 4?" Numbuh 3's voice called from his doorway. He flinched and got up, looking down at her from his wrestling ring.

"What is it?" he asked, wrinkling his forehead.

"I was wondering if you wanted to play video games with me," she replied, sending him an irresistible smile, her head cocked.

He really didn't want to play right now, he was in a terrible mood. But he felt like he couldn't say no to that oh so pretty face of hers. He bit his lip, debating the proposal within. Playing games with her would be a perfectly good explanation to spend time with her, listening to her sweet voice, looking at her beautiful face. Then again, he actually didn't want to spend time with her now. It was hard for him to explain it to himself why he didn't want to.

"Pleeeas," Numbuh 3 said, with an innocent grin. "Pretty please!"

Numbuh 4 sighed. "Alright, I'll play with ya," he said. "But only for a little while." He was feeling weak.

"Yay!" Numbuh 3 cheered, clapping her green sleeve-covered hands together enthusiastically.

Numbuh 4's bad side: I can't believe you actually agreed to play with her! You don't have time for this!

Numbuh 4's good side: Shut up! This is good for him! Let him enjoy his time with Kuki.

Numbuh 4 shook of his argument within and climbed down the ladder. He walked over to the Japanese girl, glancing at her pretty face. They walked upstairs together, talking about how they were going to beat each other in the game.

"I'll get ya this time!" Numbuh 4 assured her, smiling evilly.

"No way!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed, giggling. "I always win! You know that I'm a better player than you, Wally! I am the undefeated champion!"

"We'll see about that." Numbuh 4 grabbed his game controller as he reached the TV in the big lounge. They started to kick each others butts in a fighting game.

Numbuh 4 forgot about the whole experience with the MindReader as the time passed by. They were having a great time as usual, just beating each other up in the game. They were playing best out of 20 rounds. Numbuh 3 had won, by winning 13 rounds. Numbuh 4 had won 7 rounds.

Numbuh 3 got up, cheering. "Yay! See, I told you I'd win!"

Numbuh 4 muttered a few curse words under his breath.

Numbuh 4's good side: Don't feel too bad about it. At least she won, and she's happy. You like to see her this way, so why complain?

Numbuh 4's bad side: Are you nuts? You _let_ her win, didn't you? You weak son of a bitch! You could have won this thing if you really wanted to! But no, you just had to let that goodie, goodie girl win!

Numbuh 4's good side: Oh, come on! It's not like it's the end of the world! So what if Kuki won? She deserved to.

Numbuh 4's bad side: Oh, shut the crud up!

"Wanna play something else?" Numbuh 3 asked, smiling at the Australian.

Numbuh 4's good side: Say yes!

"No, I'm a bit tired," Numbuh 4 replied, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Oh, come on, Numbuh 4!" Numbuh 3 pleaded. "I know you want to. Come on, just one more game?"

"No, I don't think so," Numbuh 4 muttered. "Sorry. We can play more later. Tomorrow, perhaps. Right now, I'm just very tired."

"Oh, okay," Numbuh 3 said, sounding a little disappointed. "But can we watch TV, then? You're not too tired to watch TV, are you?"

"No, that's alright," he said, smiling at her.

They watched TV together for a while, talking a little about the day and what they had experienced. Numbuh 3 told him about her "key mission" and how she did it. They laughed at the Delightful Children being so stupid. "It was kinda scary, though," Numbuh 3 said. "Especially when I had to run all the way back. I got so stressed."

"Yeah, I bet," Numbuh 4 replied, scratching the back of his head. "But at least you did it. Without you we wouldn't have been here right now."

"It's just because I'm so skinny, like a stick," she said, grabbing a hold of her skinny thighs.

"And that's a good thing, or else we'd still be stuck in that cell," he smiled. "The Delightful Children could have used the MindReader on you guys too, if it hadn't been for you. And believe me, you should be glad you didn't have to go through that. I know I am."

"Huh?" Numbuh 3 frowned at him. "You're glad I didn't get brought into that room?" She smiled.

"Yeah," he hesitatingly replied. "I-I'm glad you didn't have to go through that pain." It all came out so awkwardly. He swallowed down hard, his green eyes carefully gazing up at her beautiful face.

"Aw, how sweet of you!" She grabbed him and hugged him tightly. He turned pink, his face burning. He kinda wished he could stay like that forever, but on the other hand he felt very awkward. Maybe now was the right time to tell her about his true feelings for her? Or maybe not? It was driving him nuts! He had to get it out of his system soon, his crush was getting stronger by each day. If he didn't tell her soon, it would all just burst out of him.

Numbuh 4's good side: Stop making excuses for yourself, Wally! Tell her the truth! She's ready to handle it. Just look how she's clinging to you at this very moment!

Numbuh 4's bad side: Screw her! Go back to your room and get some sleep. I'm tired!

Numbuh 3 let go if him, smiling widely. "At least I know that you care about me, and that is so cute!"

"Err, yeah," Numbuh 4 muttered. "I care about ya… a lot…" He avoided eye contact for a second.

Maybe I should just tell her now, he thought. Everything's just perfect – we're alone up here, it's not too early, and the subject has come up, sorta. It's like she already knows. I don't think it would hurt to tell her. According to that hug, she feels just about the same way about me.

Numbuh 4's good side: Yes! Yes! Tell her!

Numbuh 4's bad side: Oh, shut up, you stupid little Mr.-I'm-so-nice-and-fluffy-in-my-gay-white-pajamas-dress-that-flows-so-angelicaly-around-me! He doesn't have to say anything! All he needs now is to rest. You must be going to his head! Leave the poor kid alone, he needs to sleep!

Numbuh 4's good side: I love you too, Bad Side… (Rolling eyes, sighing) Anyways. Wally, don't you dare walk out on this perfect moment! Tell her! She has to know! Do it! She'll be all over you by the end of the night, I'm sure of it! She must feel the same way!

Numbuh 4 looked back at Numbuh 3, carefully sending her a nervous smile. She returned the smile.

"Kuki…" he started. "I kinda… Well, there's something I've wanted to tell you. And it… uhm, I've tried to tell you before, but, well-"

Numbuh 4's bad side: Okay, now this crud is getting gross!

Numbuh 4 fumbled with his hands. Suddenly realizing how helpless and scared he looked doing that, he hid them behind his back. "I've never got the chance to tell you. I feel like it's important to like, tell you…"

"Okay, so what is it?" Numbuh 3 asked cheerfully, as always.

He gulped, then taking a deep breath. "I l-like y-you…" The words came very awkwardly, his face turning bright red. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling stupid for telling her.

"Oh, I like you, too, Wally," Numbuh 3 replied.

Numbuh 4's jaw practically fell to his lap. "You what? You actually like me?"

"Yeah, silly – we're friends! Of course I like you!" She giggled.

"Yeah, I know we're friends, but I wasn't talking about that." He clenched his fists, searching for the right words. "I-I thought maybe you liked me-liked me." He was upset to find her laughing at what he had said.

"No!" she said, still laughing. "That's just weird! What made you think that I was in love with you?"

Numbuh 4 couldn't get out any words at all. He was glaring sheepishly at her, his mouth open with disappointment. It felt as if his heart was being ripped out of his chest. Then he got a grip, and shook his head. "Yeah, how stupid of me…"

"Wait!" She thought about it for a second, glaring out in the air. Then her face turned worried. She looked at Numbuh 4, who was trying to hide his face behind his blond bangs, head lowered. "Unless… you feel that way about me…" She stared at him for a few moments. "Do you?"

"No!" he lied, his disappointment turning into anger.

"Oh, good!" she exclaimed relieved. "I was actually worried you did. That would have been really weird." She let out a nervous giggle. Numbuh 4 didn't respond. She noticed how he was just sitting there in silence, as if he was… beating himself up. No! He'd just told her that he didn't feel that way about her. Unless he was lying…

Numbuh 4 got up, turning his back on Numbuh 3. He exhaled loudly and walked away. Ouch, that hurt! He walked quickly. He felt so stupid!

Numbuh 4's good side: Oops…

Numbuh 4's bad side: See, I told you so!

Numbuh 4 shook his head. He didn't want to listen to his consciousness right now. He was too sad. I did it, and I made a fool out of myself! I can't believe it! And the pain, it's so… painful. He felt like his heart was broken, ripped into pieces, sliced with a knife, leaving it to bleed from its open wounds. Tears gathered in his eyes as he thought about the humiliating experience. He felt like crying like a little baby about it, but then again he was _not_ a baby!

He walked down the hall, after leaving the lounge. He thought about going down to his room, but he suddenly felt like he wouldn't be left in peace down there.

I have to get outta here! I need air. I need to get away from her! I don't think I can face her ever again. Oh, why did I tell her? This is the biggest mistake I've ever made!

He left the Treehouse, running down the street. It was raining now. The ground beneath him was wet. The water splashed up his shoes as he ran through a big puddle. He felt like beating something up. He stopped and screamed at the top of his lunges, clenching his fists. "CRUUUUUD!" Words could not describe his anger, his disappointment, his broken heart. He fell to his knees on the wet sidewalk and let out a choked sob. He then leaned down on his hands, bending his head in shame.

"Why did I tell her?" he sobbed. "Why, why, why, why, WHY? She thinks I'm an idiot…" His chin was shivering, tears once again gathering in his eyes. "I've had a crush on her for so long, and I blew it! I hate myself! I'm stupid! I've ruined out friendship forever now. She'll never look at me the same way."

His pants were getting soaked by lying on the wet ground. He didn't care. He sat up, placing his butt on the wet pavement. He sobbed loudly, letting a tear run down his already wet face. It was impossible to stop crying now. More tears made their way down his cheeks. He hid his face in his hands. He could never forgive himself for making this mistake…


	5. Broken Dreams

**Disclaimer:** I do not own this show or the characters. It belongs to Mr. Warburton and co.

**A/N – EDIT:**This chapter used to contain lyrics by Green Day to set the mood, but I recently discovered that lyrics written by others cannot be used in fanfics. So that's why this chapter seems a little bare.

…

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 5**

I walked down the street, finally, after picking myself off the ground. I was feeling terrible, my heart aching. You know, it's true what they say about getting your heart broken. It's not just a figure of speech. My chest hurt. I felt that my heart was bleeding.

I'd decided to walk around aimlessly, just to try and calm myself down. Not that it helped. I was now freezing because my clothes were soaked. My shoes were filled with water, and my hair was a mess. But I didn't care. I was to hurt to care. I just felt like walking.

It was late now. It was dark, except for the streetlights, lighting up my path as I walked. I had no idea for how long I'd been wandering about the neighborhood. The rain was about to stop falling form the sky. Whatever… I put my hands in the pockets of my wet pants and lowered my head even more.

I wondered what Kuki was feeling right now. Was she thinking about me? Thinking that I was the biggest loser in the universe? I let out an irritated growl. I felt so lonely…

No, worse than lonely. I felt like a wreck! My life was officially screwed up, thanks to my big mouth and my stupid consciousness. I just wished that I could turn the time back, making sure that I never ever said what I had said. If I hadn't said it I wouldn't have been there I was at this moment, feeling sorry for myself. I felt sick to my stomach, and suddenly felt like throwing up.

The others would laugh at me if I told them about what I'd said. Numbuh 1 would probably think I was being silly. Numbuh 2 would think I was stupid to actually have feelings for Kuki in the first place. He'd frown at me and tell me to get over it. Numbuh 5 would also think I was stupid. How could I ever face them again if they happened to get to know about my shameful secret? Kuki had probably already told them. Since it was getting so late, they were probably wondering about where I was.

For how long would this stupid event haunt me? For how long would I see the images of me making a total ass out of myself in front of her pop up in my mind? I sighed and leaned my head back to let the silky rain cool my face.

Why did she react like that? It was as if she'd rather die than become my girlfriend! Or was that just all in my mind? She could at least have reacted in a different way! Didn't she understand that I liked her? No, that's right, she didn't… She had laughed at me! That seriously hurt. She thought I was joking or something. And she was worried about me liking her! What the crud? My sorrow turned to anger now.

What if she liked a guy, and when she told him about her feelings he'd turn her down? Wouldn't she feel the same way I was right now? At least, I didn't think life could be any worse. I mean, I loved her. Maybe not that obvious right then, but I still loved her. So I felt like most of my life was ruined, and that there was nothing left to live for. Now, I'm not the suicidal type, but I kinda started to think about what Kuki had done if I disappeared. Would she be sorry about what she'd said? Would she feel as alone as I did now? Would she at all understand that it was her fault I was gone..?

Not only was my heart broken. My dream about being Numbuh 3's boyfriend had shattered. It was now only a broken dream. And it hurt. It hurt really badly. I had no idea love could hurt this much! If you've never ended up with a broken heart before, you have no clue what this really feels like, and be happy you don't!

Now that my heart was broken, I actually felt better when I blamed Kuki for this. I knew it wasn't a nice thought, but how could I possible think anything nice about her now? Her pretty face, her raven hair, her violet eyes that sparkled so enthusiastically when she was happy…

Argh! Shoot me! Just freaking shoot me!


	6. Where's Numbuh 4?

**Disclaimer: **Still hasn't changed, dude…

**A/N:** More for you to read!

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 6**

**In the big lounge:**

"Numbuh 3, have you seen Numbuh 4?" Numbuh 5 asked as she came into the lounge.

Numbuh 3 was sitting on the couch, hugging a Rainbow Monkey, while watching TV. She turned her head toward Numbuh 5 as she entered. "No, not in the last few hours," she replied hoarsely. "He left earlier, he's not in the Treehouse." She lowered her head. "I think he's mad at me…" She squeezed the Rainbow Monkey tightly. It was the orange one, the one she usually carried around.

Numbuh 5 frowned at her. "Why would Numbuh 4 be mad at you, gurl?" she asked, sounding sympathetic, and crossed the room. Then she turned suspicious. "What did you say to him?"

"Well, we were just talking… and… we kinda started to talk about… err, if we liked each other…" Numbuh 3 avoided eye contact as she said that. "I think I made a mistake…"

"What kinda mistake?" Numbuh 5 asked, sitting down next to her.

"Well, he told me he liked me," Numbuh 3 replied, glancing up at her best friend. "And I think I misunderstood him. Because I told him that I liked him, too. Liked him like a good friend, you know. But I don't think that's what he meant by it. He thought that when I told him I liked him, that I really liked him, like having-a-crush-on-liking him. I thought he was joking, so I laughed."

"Oh, boy," Numbuh 5 moaned in despair, shaking her head. "Please tell Numbuh 5 she didn't just hear you say that you laughed at him!"

"Well, I did…" Numbuh 3 muttered. "I thought he was joking. Then I got suspicious and asked him if he really felt that way about me, but he just said 'no'."

"Well, of course he said 'no', gurl!" Numbuh 5 exclaimed irritated. "You'd just laughed in his face! Of course he was gonna say 'no' to ya! The boy opens his heart to ya and you laugh in his face. Now, if Numbuh 5 has learned one thing from the guys that we're livin' with, then that is that they have strong confident in themselves. They're very cocky, but if someone manages to make a fool out of them, they get very upset."

"So Numbuh 4 really likes me?" Numbuh 3 asked.

"Yeah, ain't it obvious?" Numbuh 5 replied. "He's been head over heals for ya ever since we became a team. You actually haven't noticed?"

"N-no," Numbuh 3 stuttered, biting her lip anxiously. "So… now I've hurt him..?"

Numbuh 5 nodded. "Mhm, you have."

"But I didn't know!" The little Japanese girl started to feel really bad. "I got scared, I don't want there to be anything between us!"

"Well, why not?" Numbuh 5 asked. "Numbuh 5 thinks you two would make a great couple."

"No!" Numbuh 3 shouted. "I don't like him like that!"

"Yeah, you do…" Numbuh 5 grinned at her. "I've seen the signs, Kuki." Numbuh 3 was surprised to hear her referring to her self in first person. She raised her eyebrows.

"Look at you," Numbuh 5 said. "You're holding an orange Rainbow Monkey, and orange just happens to be Numbuh 4's color." Numbuh 3 stared down at it, still with her arms wrapped tightly around it.

"You're always around him, you always talk to him, you always play games with him. It's always _him_, and nobody else. You like him, get it?"

"I do not!" Numbuh 3 protested. "It's just coincidental! Well, I just happen to like his company. He's nice, and he likes to play video games with me."

"Because he likes you!" Numbuh 5 added, holding her palms out to Numbuh 3. "Face it, gurl, you like him, he likes you, and that's all there is to it."

Numbuh 1 entered the room. The girls jumped, startled by him suddenly appearing like that. "Who likes who?" he asked, frowning at the two female operatives.

"Nobody!" Numbuh 3 replied quickly. She blushed slightly, feeling rather stupid about the whole "liking" situation.

"We're gathering in the meeting room soon," Numbuh 1 told them, changing the subject. "We're going to talk about the Delightful Children before we go to bed. It's very important." He was about to leave the room when he suddenly asked: "Have you seen Numbuh 4, by the way? He hasn't been in all night."

Numbuh 3 looked at Numbuh 5 with worried eyes, as if she was telling her not to tell their leader about the whole thing. Numbuh 5 nodded slightly as if she told her she understood her and wouldn't tell. Then she glanced at the leader, saying: "Nah, maybe he went home to his parents?"

"Right," Numbuh 1 muttered, lowering his eyes in thought. Then he looked at the girls again. "Well, if you do see him, tell him to come to the meeting room in five minutes."

"Got it," Numbuh 5 replied. She kept her eyes on the leader as he left. Then she looked at the Japanese girl. "Alright, not a word about this to Numbuh 1! He's not going to like the fact that anybody from the team has a thing going on between them."

"That's what I'm worried about, too," Numbuh 3 said, shaking her head. "Though, I don't really want there to be a thing. I want to forget that this ever happened."

"Are you nuts?" Numbuh 5 asked in a low voice, her left eye twitching. "You can't forget about this, this is the biggest thing that happened since Numbuh 1 admitted he really did like Lizzie! On the romance side, that is." She suddenly grinned. "Ya know, I always knew Numbuh 4 had the hots for ya."

"Don't make it sound so gross!" Numbuh 3 whined. "Besides, I will try to forget about it!"

"Kuki, look at me." The African-American girl placed her hands on the fragile shoulders of her best friend. "Just think about it. Do you really want to neglect the fact that Wally likes you? Have you thought about what you really feel for him? Have you thought about what you two could have and share if you realize that you really do like him?"

Numbuh 3 stared at Numbuh 5, her eyes feeling a bit watery. Her chin was shivering slightly. "Oh, Abby - you're right!" she cried out, throwing herself into Abigail's arms. She started to cry, sobbing loudly. "I like him! I just wish I didn't!"

Numbuh 5 patted Numbuh 3's head to comfort her. "There you go… I don't understand why you don't want to like him."

"Because I'm scared!" Numbuh 3 hollered into her shoulder.

"Alright, but why are you scared, gurl? What is there to fear if you two really like each other?" She asked her that question even if she knew that the answer would contain how much she didn't want their leader to know.

"I-I'm scared of what others will think," Numbuh 3 replied, sniffing and wiping her nose on her long green sleeve. "Especially Numbuh 1."

"Yeah… You're right," Numbuh 5 muttered, lowering her eyes. She got her fingers tangled up in the Japanese girl's hair. "But you could at least try. You don't hafta tell Numbuh 1 about it yet. Besides, he didn't tell us about Lizzie, now, did he? No, he kept her secret from us till we busted him!"

Numbuh 3 was quiet for a few moments, thinking with her head on Numbuh 5's chest. "So… what if Wally and I get busted?"

"I dunno, Kooks," Numbuh 5 whispered. "I really dunno."

**Somewhere o****utside in the dark and cold night:**

With his eyes on the ground, Numbuh 4 sighed to himself. He was now sitting on a cold and wet bench on the playground. He leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. It was getting colder by the minute, or so it felt. The sky was cloudy, the air was humid and the wind was slightly blowing past him. He found himself shivering from time to time, clattering his teeth. Not that he really care. He hardly felt the pain of the cold air. All he felt was the pain that tore him up inside.

Meanwhile, Father and the Delightful Children From Down the Lane were driving home in their black limo.

"I want to plan an attack on that tree house of theirs," Father told his Children. "I want Numbuh 1! I want his information. With that, we can take out their entire organization, and those darn Kids will never bother me again!"

"Yes, Father," the Delightful Children replied monotonously. Their faces where scarred from the fight earlier. There were even a few burnt marks on their skin. They stared out of the window as they passed the playground. They narrowed their eyes as they saw something out there. Something orange. Somebody with an orange sweater. Numbuh 4! "Stop here!" they suddenly called out to the driver.

Startled by their sudden order, the driver awkwardly pulled up by the sidewalk.

Father glared at the Delightful Children with threatening eyes. "What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"We saw something," they replied innocently. They got out of the limo, quickly walking over the playground.

Numbuh 4 didn't even look up as he heard someone approach him. It was as if he shut all sound out. All he heard were his own thoughts.

"Well, well, well," the Delightful Children said in unison. "If it isn't little Wallace Beatles."

Numbuh 4 looked up now, as he heard the familiar voices. The voices he'd rather not hear at that moment. He stared at them, unable to hide his sorrow. "What do you morons want?" he asked hoarsely. "I'm not in the mood for playing games, buttwipes!"

"We're not playing this time, Wallace," they replied, their voices sounding dark and evil. Two of them reached their hands out and grabbed him by his arms.

"'Ey, let go of me!" he shouted angrily. He tried to tug away from them, but then all of their arms shot out and grabbed a hold of him. There was no way he could beat up all five of them. Together, they were way too strong for him. They started to drag him over to the limo. He tried in vain to fight back.

Father had stepped out, now watching his Children as they kidnapped Numbuh 4. He ordered the driver to get out and open the trunk. The driver did what he was told, watching carefully as the Delightful Children tied Numbuh 4 up with a rope from the trunk. Then they threw him in.

"You can't do this!" Numbuh 4 screamed. "I'm serious, this is strictly against the law!"

"Think about it, Wallace," the Delightful Children said, glaring at him. "Is locking you up in a dungeon legal? Not really. Does it look like we care? Not by a long shot! Now, shut up!" The blond Child in the front closed the trunk aggressively.

"No cruddy way you guys are gonna get away with this!" Numbuh 4 shouted, squirming to get out of the rope. "Numbuh 1'll be here any minute and woop your asses!"

**In the meeting room:**

Numbuh 1 was getting rather impatient, pacing back and forth on his podium. He waited for the team to show up for the second time that day. And just like last time, they were late.

Numbuh 2 was the first one to show up. "Wow, it's crowded," he muttered sarcastically. "And I thought _I_ was late."

"You are, Numbuh 2,"Numbuh 1 replied through clenched teeth.

"Where are all the others?" the pilot asked, glancing back down the hall behind him.

"I'd like to know that, too!" the leader exclaimed, shooting his arms out to the sides.

The girls finally appeared in the doorway. "Sorry we're late, Numbuh 1," Numbuh 5 apologized, crossing the room. Numbuh 3 was right behind her. "We were just kinda busy."

"You didn't look that busy ten minutes ago!" Numbuh 1 muttered, rolling his eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Why isn't Numbuh 4 with you? I thought you'd find him."

"Well, he's still not back," Numbuh 3 replied, rubbing her sleeve-covered hands together nervously. She now knew that the only reason why Numbuh 4 was absent was because of her. She regretted what she had done to provoke this. The image flew through her mind again - Numbuh 4 telling her about his true feelings for her, and her just laughing at him. How could she do that to him? He was one of her best friends, and she'd just _laughed_ at him! Of course, she had no clue he was being serious about it, but she couldn't help but beat herself up over the whole situation. She decided she had to apologize to him, no matter how awkward and hard it would be. If he only came back, that was…

Numbuhs 2, 3 and 5 sat down on the couch. "Maybe we should just start without him?" Numbuh 2 suggested.

"Would you like it if we started a meeting without _you_?" Numbuh 1 asked dryly. As he got no answer from the chubby pilot, just a sheepish stare, he raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think so." He took a deep breath and thought about the situation. "Maybe we should call the meeting off. We'll talk about this tomorrow. I'm sure Numbuh 4's back by then. We can't hold this meeting without him - he was the one that got to _mindread_ by that thing."

Numbuh 5 lowered her crimson cap to make sure it covered her eyes. She thought about what Numbuh 1 had just said. So, what if Numbuh 4 didn't show up? What would they do then? Go look for him? She raised an eyebrow as she thought more about what the leader had said. Is _mindread_ even a word?

"But he'll pay for this," Numbuh 1 muttered to the team. "Running off like that, knowing that we're holding a meeting later."

"Alright, so if there won't be a meeting, I'll go back to my room," Numbuh 2 said, getting up.

The leader nodded at him. "Yeah, you guys go on to bed."

The girls got up, too, walking out of the room along with the mechanic.

Numbuh 1 got down from his podium, shaking his head as he thought about the whole thing. "Why would Numbuh 4 leave the Treehouse like that?" he thought out loud, walking over to the hall that led to his room. "Maybe he was upset about what happened earlier, the whole thing with the mind reading machine? So maybe he's thinking out a plan to erase the data that the Delightful Children has." He raised his head as he realized what a brilliant idea that actually was. "Erase their data!" He ran the rest of the way to his room. It was time to plan a second attack on the Delightful Children's mansion within the last 24 hours. "Note to self;" he muttered while running, "-bring more powerful weapons!"

**Outside the Delightful Children's mansion:**

The limo was slowing down, and coming to a stop. Numbuh 4 was still lying uncomfortably tied up in the dark trunk. He had been thinking about what those bratty Delightful Buttwipes would do to him now. They didn't really need him, they had already drained his brain for info. This was so not his day… Probably one of the worst days in his entire cruddy life!

He listened as somebody got out of the limo. The trunk was opened, revealing the dark night sky. The face of a man dressed in black and wearing shades, despite the darkness that surrounded him, showed up above Numbuh 4. He reached down into the trunk and grabbed the little Australian boy by his tied up arms and legs.

Numbuh 4, aggressive as he was, started to squirm immediately. He yelled some curse words at the man as he got lifted up and carried away from the limo.

"Put me down, you monkey faced moron!" he screamed angrily. "I'm serious, when I get out of these ropes, I'm gonna beat you into a bloody pulp! You wouldn't like that!" He tried to kick his feet, tried to get his arms free so that he could punch, but in vain. There was no escaping the rope and the man's iron grip around him. "You'll regret this, you ass-!"

Numbuh 4 got cut off by the man as he grabbed a hold of his blond hair. "Listen, you little punk!" he hissed at the boy. "If you don't shut the hell up, I'll _give_ you something to scream about!"

Numbuh 4 had cried out in pain as his hair had been tugged. He gritted his teeth at the man. "You'll regret _that_..!" he warned in a low, yet threatening voice.

The mansion was almost completely dark now. There were only a few lights on the walls, dimly lighting up the hallway. Numbuh 4 kept track of where they were going. He was brought into the room with the hidden passage – Father's lounge.

The man dressed in black stopped when he reached the middle of the floor. "Sir, I brought the prisoner in as you asked," he said with a dark and respectful voice.

"Thank you, Andrew," Father's voice replied from the big armchair that was facing away from them, and into the fireplace.

The Delightful Children suddenly stepped out from behind the armchair of their Father. They stared at Numbuh 4 with pride, as if he was their prey. Their glassy blue eyes sparkled like icicles at him, making a chill go down his spine. They grinned at him, understanding how uncomfortable he felt. And they thought that was _delightful_…

"Numbuh 4 of the Kids Next Door," Father's voice said. "There's just no holding you kids, is there? But you're actually stupid enough to be wandering around alone in the neighborhood, unsupervised and unarmed." The armchair slowly turned around. Father came into view, hidden in the shadows of the chair. His eyes glowed with excitement. "Too bad we already used the MindReader on you, kiddo. You might think that you're useless to us now, but you're not." His eyes narrowed at the young fighter. "You'll be our bait. With you here, your team will most likely come to rescue you. I don't mind them paying me another visit, as long as they can stay a little bit longer this time." He let out an evil laughter. The Delightful Children joined in.

Numbuh 4 knew that this was bad. He knew that his team would realize where he was soon enough. But Father was now planning a horrible surprise party for them, so he wasn't sure if he wanted them to come and save him. What if they got caught? What if Numbuh 1 got caught? That would cause the organization's doom! And it was all because of Numbuh 4! No wait… it was because of Numbuh 3..! He got angry as the memories of his confession forced itself back into his mind. She _better_ feel sorry about this, he thought bitterly.

Father was again serious. "Bring him down to the dungeon again," he said to the man with the shades. "He's not the skinny one that got out through the bars, so there's nothing to worry about."

The man did as told. He brought Numbuh 4 over to the bookcase and opened the passage. Numbuh 4 noticed once again the terrible smell down there. But there were other matters to worry about now. Could he try to squirm out of the man's grip? No, he was way to strong for the little boy.

Back down in the dungeon, the man threw the Kids Next Door operative on the hard floor inside the cell and ripped the rope off of him. Then he slammed the bar door shut and locked it with one of those big keys. His face was totally serious, glancing at the boy before he walked away.

Numbuh 4 noticed how another torch was placed where the old one used to be. That's odd, he thought. It's like they knew I'd be captured again. Or maybe it was just Father and his flame magic? He shook his head. He didn't feel like thinking about it now. He was getting very tired. His body was still worn out after the experience with the MindReader 3000 earlier, and in the meantime he had been wearing himself out, both physically and physiologically. He had been running, screaming, crying. He was a mess now.

He suddenly felt that he had to go to the bathroom. "Ugh, perfect timing," he muttered sarcastically. He had to ignore it for now, even how hard it was. He sat down in the corner, hugging his knees. "Life can't get worse now!" he moaned. Numbuh 3 was now back on his mind. The darkness that surrounded him called her back so he wouldn't feel lonely. It usually made him feel better, but now it only made him feel worse. He shook his head and tried to ignore the tears that forced themselves back into his eyes. He hoped she was thinking about him, too. But not that he was an idiot. He hoped she had changed her mind about liking him. Err… right, he thought. Like that'd ever happen!

**Meanwhile, back at the Treehouse:**

Numbuh 3 pulled the blanked up to her chin and grabbed the orange Rainbow Monkey. She hugged it tightly. It reminded her of Numbuh 4. Numbuh 4, who was not down there in his room where he was supposed to be. "Oh, why did he have to go saying _that_ to me?" she whispered to the Rainbow Monkey. "I'm so frustrated. I don't really know what to say to him. I know I should apologize about, but what else should I say? Should I tell him that I like him, too?" She sighed and shut her eyes. She wanted to sleep, but it would be hard to sleep now, with so much to think about. The room was dark, except for the little night lamp she had by her bed so she wouldn't be afraid.

Abby think I should tell him, she thought. But operatives should not date fellow operatives. Numbuh 1 even said that! He'll be furious with us if he finds out about us liking each other. But was that the only thing she feared? No, she feared the radical changes that would follow a relationship with Numbuh 4. Some changes would probably be for the better. After all, she had told the others of how she wanted a boyfriend. Or had she? Well, not exactly, but she had told them what she'd do with him… kinda… Or where she would go on her dates with him. Yeah, that was it! Where she'd like her and her boyfriend to go on a date.

Numbuh 3 suddenly felt how a wave of happy thoughts rushed through her. Maybe I should just tell him? Maybe we should just become a couple, no matter what happens? I mean, you can't deny love! It's the most powerful emotion of all. And it's so beautiful! I love love! So why do I fear it? Ah, it doesn't matter! I'll tell him!

She smiled to herself as she drifted off into a deep sleep, dreaming about all the happiness you could think of.


	7. Attack the Mansion!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**A/N:** Chapter 7! Here we go!

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 7**

Numbuh 4 opened his eyes. The dark dungeon was even darker now. The torch on the wall had burned out. A dim light managed to slide over the stony floor from the doorway that led out to the long hall.

He yawned, realizing he had fallen asleep last night out of pure exhaust. He wondered what time it was, lifting his head up from the hard floor. He got up in a seated position, wrapping his arms around him. The dungeon was very cold this early in the morning. He had goose bumps. A chill went down his back. His eyes searched the dungeon for any signs of life, any signs of the cruddy Delightfuls. But there was only silence.

His bladder felt like it was going to burst soon. He remembered how badly he had to go last night. He kind of wanted somebody to show up now, so that they could take him to a freaking bathroom! If nobody showed up soon, he'd most likely wet his pants.

Numbuh 4 got up from the floor. His side was aching after sleeping on that hard ground. He didn't think he'd ever felt less comfortable. Night is supposed to be the comfortable hour, he thought as he walked over to the bars. He tried to look out into the hallway, but he couldn't see far. "'Ello?" he called out with a voice he barely even recognized. He cleared his throat. "'Ey, is there anyone there? I've gotta go to the bathroom!"

No answer.

"Great!" he muttered sarcastically and leaned his face onto the bars. "This is my luck!"

**Early morning in the Treehouse:**

Numbuh 3 got up with a gasp. She soon realized she'd just had a bad dream. She couldn't remember what it was, only that it was horrible. She sighed with a frown. Then she picked up her orange Rainbow Monkey and hugged it. "I hate bad dreams," she said to it. After she'd been cuddling it for a while, she got out of bed and got dressed.

Meanwhile, Numbuh 1 was in the kitchen, getting himself a glass of orange juice. He never liked eating much in the morning now days. A glass of orange juice would do just fine for the next few hours. That, and sometimes even a pop tart.

Numbuh 2 entered the room as Numbuh 1 was busy drinking his juice. "Good morning," he said in a cheerful voice. He crossed the room to get to the fridge.

Numbuh 1 greeted him with a nod as he finished his juice. "Hey, did you hear Numbuh 4 coming back last night?" he asked and placed his empty glass on the counter next to the sink.

"No, I didn't," Numbuh 2 replied thoughtfully. He reached into the fridge and started to gather all kinds of food in his arms. He placed all the food on the counter and started to make a couple of sandwiches. He put just about all their fridge's contents on them. Swiss cheese, peanut butter, sausage, jelly, scrambled eggs and so on. To go with the sandwich, he grabbed a big glass and filled it with chocolate milk.

Numbuh 1 had already left the kitchen by then and made his way back to his room. He was getting very worried about his missing team mate. Numbuh 4 should have been back a long time ago.

Numbuh 5 entered the kitchen next. She greeted the chubby pilot over by the table, who was stuffing his face with one of his huge sandwiches. "Morning."

"Morning, Numbuh 5," he replied, his mouth full of food.

Numbuh 5 went over to the big kitchen cabinet and browsed through cereals and other food. She settled with a peach toaster pastry. She put it in the toaster, then turned around to face Numbuh 2. "Hoagie, do you know if Numbuh 4's been holding any secrets from the rest of the team?"

Numbuh 2 stared at her with a frown, as if he didn't understand what she was talking about. He took a big sip of his chocolate milk. "What kinda secrets?"

Numbuh 5's eyes wandered the room. "Well, if he ever told ya about a certain girl he liked?" she replied, shrugging.

He smiled at her, a tricky smile. "Oh, so you wanna know if he likes you, is that it?"

"What?" Her jaw fell. She lowered her eyebrows at her team mate. "Nu-uh! Numbuh 5 doesn't like that little shrimp! She was just wonderin' if ya heard him say anything about any girls he kinda liked."

"Well, no," Numbuh 2 replied, scratching the back of his head. "What, you know something about that, is that why you're asking? To make sure you're right about it?"

She shrugged again. No way was she telling that _dorkster_ about Numbuh 4 and his confession. She had promised Numbuh 3 not to. And besides, she knew Numbuh 4 would appreciate her shutting up about it. There was probably a reason why he never told the other guys about his crush on Numbuh 3 in the first place. No need to screw up his cover just yet.

Her toaster pastry was done. She grabbed a plate to put it on. Then she got herself a glass of orange juice.

Numbuh 3 came skipping into the room, expecting to see Numbuh 4 by the table with the others. She scanned the room. "Hey, where's Numbuh 4?" she asked.

"I don't think he even came back last night," Numbuh 2 replied, taking a big bite of his sandwich. After chewing it all up and swallowing it down, he added: "My guess would be that he went home to his parents. But I don't know why."

Numbuh 3 glanced at Numbuh 5 with a sad look on her face. Numbuh 5 wrinkled her forehead in sympathy at her.

Numbuh 2 finished his breakfast, cleaned up after himself and left the room. Numbuh 3 had just been standing there on the floor, thinking. Numbuh 5 hadn't moved either. She was just waiting for the pilot to leave so that she could talk to her best friend in private. After Numbuh 2 finally had left, she turned to Numbuh 3.

"Kuki?"

"He's not back because of me," Numbuh 3 whispered sadly. She bent her head in shame. "I should probably go and find him. I-I decided to tell him that I… like him."

"That's the spirit, gurl!" Numbuh 5 grinned at her, getting up from the chair and walking over to her. "Look, he'll be back soon. Numbuh 5's sure of it. He just needs to… blow off some steam. Not that I blame him." She glanced at the doorway as she thought she heard something.

The leader entered the room with a confused look on his face. "I just called home to Numbuh 4's to check if he was there," he informed the girls. "His parents told me they hadn't seen him in a couple of days. They didn't worry, because they thought he was here all along."

"So… you're saying that Numbuh 4 is completely missing?" Numbuh 5 asked, her eyes growing wider under the brim of her cap.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Numbuh 1 replied. "Kids Next Door – we're going on a search mission right away!"

The three operatives ran to the next room and got into their chutes. They landed in Numbuh 2's room. He wasn't exactly surprised to see them, as this had happened about a _gazillon_ times before. He looked up from the engine of the S.K.Y.C.L.A.W. that he had been ordered yesterday to improve.

"Numbuh 2, we're going to look for Numbuh 4," Numbuh 1 ordered. "I fear he's been captured by someone we wouldn't want him to be captured by. He always comes back home to sleep, but not last night. I'm worried that something has happened. I don't have any other explanations for it."

The two female operatives exchanged looks. Of course, they did. They thought Numbuh 4 hadn't come back last night because of what had happened with Numbuh 3. They thought he had spent the night somewhere else.

"Alright, I suggest we take the bus," Numbuh 2 said, pointing over at the old yellow school bus. "I noticed a few things I need to work on, on the M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.O.."

The leader nodded and led the way over to the bus. The others were right behind.

**Meanwhile, i****n the Delightful Children mansion:**

"They will be here any minute now, my Children." Father gazed down at the five glassy eyed Children from the shadows of his armchair. "And we will be prepared."

"It seems we know them too well, Father," the Delightful Children said in unison with monotone voices. "Every move they make makes it easier for us to predict their next move."

"That's correct, Children," Father replied. "And this time they will not escape!" His eyes burned with hatred for a moment. Then he looked at the Delightfuls again. "Go check on the prisoner. We don't want him to starve and die on us, now, do we? But make sure he understands that if he won't change his choice of words soon, he'll know what it _really_ feels like to be a prisoner! Remember what I showed you down there, your new toys?"

The Delightful Children smiled at the words of their Father. "Yes, Father. We remember." They then turned around and went over to the bookcase to get down to the dungeon through the secret passage. They disappeared into the darkness. The tallest of the Delightful Children plucked a torch down from the wall in the long hallway, one of those that still was on fire.

Numbuh 4 had been standing in the cell by the bars, waiting for them as he had heard a sound further down the hallway. He knew that somebody was coming down to check on him. "'Ey, let me the crud outta here!" he shouted in anger as they stepped in through the doorway. "I seriously need to go to the bathroom! Now, are yeh gonna let me out, or do I have to pee on _you_ guys?"

They stared at him with expressionless faces. "Father wants you to watch your mouth," they said. "Or else you might end up in trouble."

"Trouble?" Numbuh 4 yelled. "I'm already up to my knees in trouble! Partly because of you Delightful Dweebs!"

"Remember what we told you last night, Wallabee?" they asked him monotonously. "We're not joking with you this time. We're not planning to let you out of here – EVER!"

"It doesn't matter!" he replied crossing his arms over his chest. "Because the team'll be here any minute now!"

"You keep believing that," they said and let a smile cross their other so serious faces. Their glassy blue eyes sparkled at him. The dark marks around their eyes looked even darker. "You're so ignorant it's almost scary."

"Whatever!" Numbuh 4 called. He jumped up and down a few times. "Now, get me to a cruddy toilet! I'm about to pee my pants here!"

They grinned at him. "Maybe we should just let you pee your pants, then."

"Hah!" Numbuh 4 let out a laugh. "You guys are the ones that would have to clean it up!"

**Out in the neighborhood:**

"Alright, team," Numbuh 1 said from his seat in the front of the vehicle. "I want two up in the air, and two on the ground. Numbuh 2 – you'll steer the ship. Numbuh 3, you stay here with him." He turned towards Numbuh 5. "You're with me, Numbuh 5. We're going to check all the possible places for Numbuh 4 to be. So this is my plan; if we can't find Numbuh 4 down there, we're attacking the Delightful Children From Down the Lane's mansion. I have a feeling that's exactly where we'll find him." He got up and walked to the back of the ship to get two parachutes for Numbuh 5 and himself. He handed her one of them, and strapped the other one on. Then he got himself a freezer gun.

Numbuh 5 got ready, picked up a ray gun and walked over to the door of the bus. Numbuh 2 opened the door for the two team mates, and they both jumped out in midair.

Numbuh 3 lowered her head. "I really hope we'll find him," she muttered.

"Don't worry, Numbuh 3," the pilot replied. "I'm sure he'll show up soon. He can't have gotten that far."

Numbuh 3 avoided eye contact and turned around. She stared out of the window. "Where are you, Wally?" she muttered under her breath. She looked up and saw her reflection in the glass. She frowned. Then she smacked her hands over her reflection so she wouldn't have to look at her own guilty face. "It's my fault…"

Meanwhile, Numbuhs 1 and 5 landed softly on the ground thanks to the parachutes. They started to check through the neighborhood. Numbuh 1 actually wanted to attack the Delightful Children's mansion, but he knew it was too soon. He wasn't even sure if they had Numbuh 4. So he had to do this all by the book first. Then he could blame his archenemies.

After checking all possible places for Numbuh 4 to be, and asking random people on the street if they had seen him, which they obviously hadn't, Numbuh 1 decided it was time to pull out the big guns as attack the mansion. He rolled up his sleeve and pressed a button on the T.A.L.K.E.R.. "Numbuh 2 – we're over by the candy shop," he said. "Pick us up as soon as possible. We can't find him anywhere, but I think I know where he is anyway."

"Aye aye, sir," Numbuh 2 replied through it.

"It's war now, ain't it?" Numbuh 5 asked the leader as she walked over to him from the other side of the candy store.

"True, Numbuh 5," he replied looking at her. "We're blasting a hole in their mansion! I don't understand why they kidnapped _him_. They don't even need him." He thought about it for a few seconds, lowering his eyes. "Unless they're using him to get us over there."

"I was thinking so too, boss," she said. "I think maybe they have something big planned for us thins time."

"You're right, Numbuh 5," Numbuh 1 said, sounding rather surprised as everything became clear to him. "You're absolutely right! We need the strongest weapons we've got for this battle. They're just waiting for us to show up. It's so obvious."

Numbuh 2 was now right above them, letting out rope ladder for them to climb up in.

"We're attacking right away, guys," Numbuh 1 said as soon as he made it up into the ship. "Suit up, bring our most destructive weapons! We're taking them down!" He pointed a finger at the Delightful's mansions down the lane.

The ship erupted with cheering and aggressive shouting.

A few minutes later, the ship was parked and the operatives were ready for a battle. They ran over the lawn and up to the wall of the mansion. They stopped and started to look for the best place to break in.

"Blast this wall open, Numbuh 2!" Numbuh 1 ordered. "It doesn't matter what waits for us inside. They already know that were coming."

"Well, I only had time to make one more W.A.L.L.B.L.A.S.T. last night, so this is the only _real_ bomb we have left," Numbuh 2 replied, picking the bomb out of the backpack he constantly carried around to make sure everybody had ammo at all time. (His other backpack was still in the mansion after the Delightful Children took it, this was just another one). He placed the bomb on the wall, making sure it would stick there, then winded it. He and the others got out of the way as the wall blasted open in another loud _boom_!

"Well done, Numbuh 2," the leader congratulated. "Now, let's move in!"

They all got in through the hole together, their fingers on the triggers of their weapons.

"Not so fast, little kids," a dark voice said from the corner of the room they had just entered. Father's dark being stepped out of the shadows to revile his hiding place. "I was expecting you earlier." He glanced at the old clock over by the wall the Kids Next Door operatives had blasted themselves through a few seconds ago.

"Hand over Numbuh 4!" Numbuh 1 demanded the dark man. "He's of no use to you!"

"You are mistaking, Nigel Uno," Father replied. "Everything went according to plan, only because I got a hold of that snot-nosed little excuse for a kid."

"Don't talk that way about Numbuh 4, you evil adult!" Numbuh 3 shouted angrily, aiming her T.H.U.M.P.E.R. at Father.

He ignored her. "And since I had so much time on my hands waiting for you to show up, I made sure you would not win and get away this time." He glanced over at the door just in time to see a bunch of men wearing ice cream uniforms enter the room. "Get those kids!" he ordered them, his eyes burning.

The ice cream men started to fire scoops of icy ice cream at the Kids Next Door operatives.

"Kids Next Door –," Numbuh 1 yelled. "Battle stations!"

They all started to fire back at the ice cream men. Numbuh 5 watched as Father made a run for it, the ice cream men covered him. He was laughing evilly, as if he knew he was going to win this time.

"Nu-uh!" Numbuh 5 shouted. "That lousy scum's not getting away that easily!" She was about to run passed the army of ice cream men that blocked the doorway, but Numbuh 1 held her back.

"Wait! Let him go. We'll deal with him later. If you leave us now, we're going to lose against these ice cream weirdos."

It was a tough battle, but after a little while, our little heroes managed to bring most of the ice-cream-men army down.

"Numbuh 5!" Numbuh 1 called out to her as she was firing from the other side of the room of him. "I need you to go and find Numbuh 4. This is our chance! We don't have much time. Hurry!"

Numbuh 5 was about to make a run for it, but stopped as she saw the look on Numbuh 3's face. She moved closer to her and made sure she didn't get hit by any scoops of ice cream. "Listen, gurl," she said. "I think you should do this. After all, you proved us all yesterday that you're at least as good as Numbuh 5 at being a spy, if not better."

Numbuh 3 brightened up and hugged the African-American girl tightly. "Oh, thank you, Abby!" Then she quickly ran across the room, maneuvering away from all the ice cream scoops that came flying at her.

"Numbuh 3!" Numbuh 1 called out. He had of course no idea why she was leaving the group, but he had no other choice than to cover her back as she ran.

"Don't worry, Numbuh 1," Numbuh 5 said. "She's going instead of Numbuh 5."

"What?" Numbuh 2 shouted. "Are you nuts? She can't possibly do your job!"

"Yes, she can, you lamer!" she snapped. "Didn't you see her yesterday? Don't underestimate her!"

Meanwhile, Numbuh 3 was running down the hall. "Alright – think, girl, think!" she muttered to her self. "Where would they be holding Numbuh 4 now? Would they actually be stupid enough to leave him down in the dungeon again?" She thought she'd check, just to be on the safe side. She ran into Father living room, scanned it for any signs of life and hurried over to the bookcase. "Which one was it again?" She was not sure. With a sleeve-covered hand, she grabbed a bunch of books. None of them worked. She grabbed a few more, pulled them out of their places, till there were no more books left. "What?" she exclaimed as she realized it didn't work. "Have they changed it?"

"Stupid little girl!"

She threw herself around, stressfully as she heard the five monotone voices over by the door.

"You now realize that there is no way for you and your little friends to win this time?"

"Let Numbuh 4 go!" Numbuh 3 ordered. "He's down there, isn't he?" She pointed at the bookcase behind her.

"Correct, Kuki," they replied as they took a few steps into the room. Their eyes seemed to get colder. "But we were smart enough to make a few changes on the entrance before we'd capture you again. Numbuh 4 was actually stupid enough to be out all by himself last night, which of course was a thrill to us. We used him as bait to get the rest of you here. Now we'll capture you and use the MindReader 3000 on all of you!" They laughed at what they had said, an evil laughter.

"Well, that's not very nice!" Numbuh 3 said with a frown and placed her hands on her hips, her weapon under her arm.

They suddenly stopped laughing and stared at the raven haired girl. "Of course it's not nice, you twit! Come along, now. It's time for you to join your friend down there." They started to move closer.

Numbuh 3 aimed her weapon at them and fired. They had no other choice but to leave the room. "Yay!" Numbuh 3 cheered to herself. "I'm the best!" But she got quiet as she heard a sound from out in the hall.

All the sudden, the Delightful Children came back in one of their machines. It was shaped as big light bulb with iron legs. They were standing in the top of it, the top of the machine was of glass. "What do you say now, Numbuh 3 of the Kids Next Door?" They fired at missile at her.

Numbuh 3 let out a shriek at ran away from the bookcase. The missile hit the shelf and blasted the secret passage open. Numbuh 3 stared at the open hole. She didn't think for a minute, just got up and ran over to it, disappearing into the stairway of the cellar.

"Lenny – you're an idiot!"

Numbuh 3 ran as fast as she possibly could. She ignored the smell, the darkness, the threats of the Delightful Children that were yelled after her. She just ran.

Inside the dungeon, Numbuh 4 was curious about the loud explosion he had heard. He thought the cellar was soundproof. He got up and stood by the bars, this time with an empty bladder, since the Delightful Children had been kind enough to take him to the bathroom.

"Numbuh 4?"

His heart skipped a beat as he heard that voice call his name. "Kuki?" He grabbed on to the bars, clenching his hands so tightly around them that his hands whitened.

Numbuh 3 ran through the doorway. "Wally!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you!" She went over to the bars and laid her hands on his.

He remembered at once the terrible experience he'd had with her the day before, and started to feel sick. He let go of the bars and tugged his hands away form her.

"What's the matter?" she asked with a disappointed tone in her voice, frowning at him.

He pulled away from the bars. "I didn't think you cared about me," he muttered irritated, looking up at her from under his bangs, his eyebrows lowered.

"Now you're just being silly, Wally," she said seriously. "Of course I like you. Maybe not the way you would want me to like you, but…" She avoided eye contact. "I've got something to tell you, though…" she glanced over at the doorway as she heard something down the hall. "But I can't tell you now! We've gotta get you out of here!"

Numbuh 4 looked away, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't care if I get out or not," he muttered. "It doesn't matter to me now."

"What are you talking about?" She was starting to get rather impatient with him.

"I'm not going to talk to you about it, 'cause if I do, I might end up regretting it for the rest of my life!" he shot back, glaring at her.

Numbuh 3 shook her head. "Would you knock it off? You have no reason to regret what you told me yesterday."

"Oh, no?" he asked aggressively. "What do you think went through my head that moment I realized I had made a complete ass out of myself? How do you think I felt last night? Why do you think I left the Treehouse? Huh?"

"Wait, we'll talk about this later!" she interrupted. "We have to get you out!"

"Numbuh 3?" Numbuh 1 voice was heard from down the hall. "Are you down here?"

"I'm right here, Numbuh 1!" she replied, relieved it was her team that was on their way to the dungeon. "Numbuh 4's here, we have to get him out!"

The three other operative entered the dungeon, glancing over at Numbuh 4 inside the cell.

"Are you alright, Numbuh 4?" Numbuh 1 asked, moving closer to the cell.

"Yeah," he muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Numbuh 2, do you have any other explosives in that backpack?" the leader asked and pointed at the pilot's back. "Anything at all, so we can blow open that lock?"

The pilot went through his backpack real quick before he pulled out a grenade.

**Weapon/vehicle interruption:**

Kids Next Door P.O.O.F.

Powerfully Opens Obstacle Fast

**Now ending weapon/vehicle interruption…**

"This should do," Numbuh 2 said and attached it to the lock on the door. He pressed a tiny button on and quickly got out of the way.

A little explosion took place, which practically blew the lock to pieces.

Numbuh 4 got out of the cell. "Let's get the crud outta her!" he exclaimed. "I'm not staying here another minute!" He made his way over to the doorway. Numbuh 2 handed him a ray gun, so that he was ready to meet the Delightful Children and Father if they happened to do so.

Together, they all ran out of the dungeon and down the hall. Nobody stopped running, not a word was said before they'd reached the top of the stairs and the lounge came into view.

"You thought you'd outsmarted us, didn't you?" Father asked as he stepped out in front of the opening. "Outsmart this!" He blasted a huge fireball at the five Kids Next Door operatives that sent them all a few steps back down. Numbuh 1 was hit the worst. He had been standing in the front, leading the team.

"Numbuh 1!" Numbuh 5 shouted in fear as she realized her leader had been knocked out. "Oh, no." She picked herself up and crawled a few steps up to get to him.

"No cruddy way you're going to keep us here!" Numbuh 4 screamed at Father in fury as he got up, ignoring the sharp pain that had a tight grip in his back after the sudden blast. He picked his gun up and fired at Father, but missed as Father was too quick for him. He gritted his teeth and fired again. This time he hit him in the arm.

Father growled in pain. "You! You little brat!" He blasted a fireball after the blond Aussie. It was not as big as the first one, but big enough.

Numbuh 3 thought quickly, and in less than a second she got up, standing in the way of the fireball so it wouldn't hit Numbuh 4. It hit her in the chest, sending her into Numbuh 4's arms. She let out a loud shriek in pain. They both fell a few steps down.

"Kuki!" Numbuh 4 exclaimed in shock. He managed to get up seated with the Japanese girl lying on his lap. "Are you nuts? You weren't supposed to do that!" He shook her arm to make sure she hadn't fainted. "Kuki?"

"Alright, that does it!" Numbuh 2 screamed angrily at Father. "You're not supposed to do that to innocent girls!" He fired his gun at the dark man, getting a clear shot in his midsection.

Father got slung a few feet back. He once again growled at the pain, and bent down a bit with his arms over his chest. "You'll regret that, you little creep!"

"Hoagie, we have to get outta here!" Numbuh 5 squealed and got up, pulling her unconscious leader a few steps up the stairs.

"No kidding!" the pilot shot back, firing his gun at Father again.

Numbuh 4 got up and gently lifted Numbuh 3 up in his arms. She moaned at the pain in her chest. She had closed her eyes, but now she looked up at her little hero in the orange hoodie. Her violet eyes met his emerald ones. She wanted to smile at him, but the pain made it too difficult. She actually wanted to cry out in pain, but she managed to keep herself from it.

Father tried to blast another fireball to hit Numbuh 2, but he missed.

"Let's go, guys!" Numbuh 2 shouted. "Hurry up, while I distract him!" He kept firing his gun at Father.

Numbuh 5 lifted Numbuh 1 up on her shoulder. "Numbuh 5 heard that!" She started to run out of the room.

"Go, Numbuh 4!" Numbuh 2 howled.

"But what about you?" the blond fighter asked as he'd made it all the way up the stairs with Numbuh 3 in his arms.

"Don't worry," Numbuh 2 replied, firing another shot at Father that sent the evil man down on the floor. "I'll be fine. Just get her out of here!"

Numbuh 4 then got a move on it and ran out of the room, following right behind Numbuh 5. They ran as fast as they possibly could with one operative each in their arms to worry about. They made it all the way to the big room they had blasted themselves through earlier. There were ice cream everywhere, and the damage of the room was great. Not that Numbuhs 4 and 5 stopped to wonder about that. They just ran out through the hole in the wall, and out to the ship.

Meanwhile, Numbuh 2 was busy keeping Father nailed to the floor. "You didn't think we had such powerful weapons, did you?" he asked. "I invented this one especially for you!" He fired again, and received a fireball in return. He got blown a few feet back, landing on the floor.

"You better watch out, kiddo!" Father said, getting up from the floor, his entire body in flames. "You never know when your enemy strikes back!"

Numbuh 2 swallowed down hard. "You know what, man? I think it's time I left." He giggled nervously and got up. Then he started to run, waving his arms frantically in the air, and screaming like a little girl.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Father shouted as the chubby boy ran out through the door. He made himself into a fireball and chased after the Kids Next Door operative.

"Oh, no!" Numbuh 2 whined to himself as he realized he was being followed. He tried to increase speed, but his legs started to hurt. He jumped around a corner as the hall made a sharp turn. Now he spotted the room they had come in through. "Just a little bit longer," he said to himself out loud. Knowing that Father was right behind him, he feared he'd trip or decrease speed, or both.

The open door was closer now. He practically threw himself through it. He was panting like a mad dog as he ran across the room and jumped out of the hole in the wall. To his surprise, the ship was right outside the hole, the door open for Numbuh 2 to get on. Numbuh 5 stood in the door, waiting for him. He threw himself in and grabbed a hold of her arms.

"Alright, he's in!" she shouted. "Let's go, Numbuh 4!"

Numbuh 4 stepped on the gas and got them out of there right before Father flew out of the hole in the wall. Father missed them by only a second or less.

"So long, _suckuh_!" Numbuh 5 shouted down to him before the door was closed.

Father turned back to normal and stared at the ship as it gained altitude. "NOOOO!" He had been so close to get them all this time. But again, he had failed.


	8. A sad night

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I don't own anything.

**A/N:** This chapter is short, and really not as good as I had pictured, but whatever Here it is!

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 8**

Numbuh 5 carefully shut the door behind her as she left the room. Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 4 were waiting for her out in the hall.

"How is he?" Numbuh 2 asked with a concerned voice.

"He's still unconscious," she replied and shook her head with sadness. "That big fireball was enough to knock him out for hours. He's got some serious wounds from it, and second degree burn. Numbuh 5's worried he won't be able to get out of bed in the next few days. Sector V's without a leader now."

"What?" Numbuh 4 exclaimed. "But… we can't be without a leader! Father might attack us now that he knows that we're weak!"

Numbuh 5 placed her hands on her hips and lowered her eyebrows, once again resigned by her team mate's ignorance. "Exactly, Einstein! At least you figured that one out in less than twenty seconds."

"'Ey, stop calling me stupid!" he shouted.

"Guys, stop it!" Numbuh 2 whispered angrily. "Numbuh 1 is unconscious, Numbuh 3 is resting, the whole team is down now, we have no plans what so ever – and all you two can do is stand here and fight!"

Numbuh 4 lowered his head, his blond bangs covering his guilty eyes. Numbuh 5 took a deep breath and avoided eye contact with the chubby pilot.

"This isn't exactly what we need right now," Numbuh 2 continued. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be in my room reading some comics and resting." He walked off, leaving the two others behind.

"You know he was right," Numbuh 5 muttered to Numbuh 4.

"Me?" he yelled with fury. "You're the one that started it!"

"What evuh! Numbuh 5'll be in her room." She left as well.

Numbuh 4 growled at her as she disappeared down the hall. But then he quickly understood why she was so aggressive now. He assumed it was because she was scared and tired and worried about their leader all at once. She usually kept those kinds of thoughts to herself, but with the team so vulnerable he supposed she was clueless. He knew he was. And he was very worried about Numbuh 3 as well, even if she wasn't hurt half as bad as Numbuh 1. He just couldn't help but love her.

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants and wandered off towards his room. When he made it to the stairs that led down to his room, he stopped. The stairs that led up to Numbuh 3's room were right beside his stairs. Something inside him told him to go up there and check on her, even if he was just up there half an hour ago. Yesterday's event was still bugging him. He was embarrassed about it, and it made it hard to look her in the eyes.

The stairs were calling for him. But what if she was sleeping? It wasn't like the stairs cared. And neither did he in the end. He quickly but silently made his way up the stairs. The long hallway seemed so deserted. It was as if the entire Treehouse was abandoned because of the silence that haunted it. There was no music from Numbuh 5's room, no sounds of mechanic construction work, no happy voices, no alarms.

Numbuh 4 went over to Numbuh 3's green curtain as he finally made it to the end of the hall. He was about to knock on the wall next to the curtain, but hesitated as he suddenly felt worried about disturbing her. He forced the feeling away and knocked softly.

A few seconds later he heard Numbuh 3's sleepy voice reply: "Yes?"

He looked into her room. "Hi… Numbuh 3…"

She sat up in her bed (, the giant Rainbow Monkey that she used for a bed, that is) and stared at him. "Numbuh 4, you were just up here."

"Yeah, I know," he replied awkwardly, looking down at the floor.

"Was there something you wanted to say?" she asked, tugging the blanket up to her chin.

He went into the room and let the curtain fall shut behind him. "Well, I… I was a little worried. I mean, I am. So I guess I just wanted to check on you… again." He swallowed down hard, as he realized he'd sounded so incredibly stupid.

Numbuh 3 giggled. "That's cute of you, Numbuh 4. I'm feeling better now, but I still need to rest. You knew that, silly."

"Y-yeah…" He shook his head. He knew why he was up there now. He wanted to know what it was Numbuh 3 had wanted to tell him back in the dungeon. "Listen, Kuki… I-err…" He scratched the back of his head as he moved closer to her bed. "Remember there was something you wanted to tell me earlier… at the mansion?"

"Oh, that." Numbuh 3 blushed slightly. "I-I don't know if I want to say it after all…"

Numbuh 4's heart sank. "Oh, well… ok…" he stuttered. "I mean, it's up to you really." He suddenly felt sick again. His stomach was twisting. "I guess I'll leave, then." He was about to turn around and leave.

"Wait!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed, reaching her hand out after him.

He turned to face her again, frowning.

"I… Maybe I should say it after all," she said hesitatingly. She motioned for him to sit down on her bed. "I've been thinking a lot about this, Numbuh 4."

He went over to her bed and hopped up on it. In his mind, he cursed his short legs. "Thinking about what?" he asked, staring directly into her violet eyes.

"About what you told me yesterday," she replied, hugging her knees.

"Oh, great!" he muttered sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "Please just forget about the whole thing. I shouldn't have said it, it was unprofessional of me, it will never happen again! So, I guess it's better if I just leave now." He felt how he was getting angry. "Before you can say more stupid things to me and make me feel even worse about myself!"

"Calm down, Wally!" she said, surprised to see him react like this. "I'm really sorry about what happened… and what I said."

He rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, but you still can't say that you like me or something like that, blah, blah!" He shook his head as he continued. "Look, Kuki – I really don't need to hear that. You made it perfectly clear to me last night!"

"Would you let me finish?" she asked, feeling a little hurt.

He exhaled, gritted his teeth and gave her a quick nod.

"I was… freaked out last night," she started. "I had no idea you felt that way about me. Well, it might have crossed my mind before, but I never knew you actually… were in love with me. I want you to know how bad I felt last night after you'd left."

"_You_ felt bad?" he shouted, clenching his fists. He raised his voice even more. "_You_ felt bad? What about _me_? How do you think I felt, for cruds sake?"

"Stop yelling at me!" Numbuh 3 whimpered and held her hands over her ears. She felt like crying, but managed to hold it back. It was just so painful to deal with both the physical pains in her chest and the heartbreaking yelling of his. She let her hands down and again hugged her knees tightly while lowering her head. "I do feel bad, because you feel bad. So after you had left last night, I started to think. And I thought about what you had said. I started to search for what I felt about you."

"And you found out that you hate me," Numbuh 4 added. "Great, like I didn't already know that!"

"Wally, please let me finish," she pleaded, her eyes starting to feel watery.

He tried to ignore his shaking chin as the image once again flashed before his eyes. He told her about his feelings, and she _laughed_.

What is it that she wants to tell me, then? Maybe I should shut the crud up now and let her finish. But… I get so angry. And sad…

"I'm sorry," he muttered, staring at her with guilty eyes. "Just finish what you were going to say…"

"I actually don't want to when you're being so mean to me," she replied with a sad voice and turned her head away form him.

"What do you want me to do - beg you to tell me?" he asked. He rolled his eyes again and tried to calm down, which he failed miserably. "Look, Kuki. I just want you to tell me."

"Ok, but promise you won't interrupt again," she said irritated.

"I promise," Numbuh 4 replied. He took a deep breath and told himself not to freak out and get all pissed off, no matter what she said.

"I want you to know that this is really difficult for me," she continued. "But I will tell you anyway." Her heart was now beating faster. She moved closer to him, carefully taking one of his hands in hers.

Numbuh 4 had mixed emotions about this. He kinda wanted her to hold his hand, because he still liked her. But on the other hand, he held a grudge against her now, after what she had caused him to do the night before. It was her fault he ran off. It was her fault he sat down on the playground to be alone. It was her fault he was there the moment the Delightful Children drove by. After blaming her for all that had happened, he suddenly felt a lot better about himself.

"You said you like me," she said carefully. "And I realized that I like you, too." She exhaled and swallowed down hard, curious about how he'd react.

Numbuh 4's eyes widened. This was _not_ what he'd expected at all. Not from her. Not now. "You _what_?" he tried to say, but it only came out as a choked whisper.

She smiled and blushed. "I like you the way you like me, Wally! You know what I mean."

Numbuh 4 quickly tugged his hand back. He stayed shocked, not at all planning to smile back at her. Numbuh 3's smiled faded.

"What is it?" she asked with a worried voice.

He couldn't say a word. This was not expected. He turned his head away so she couldn't see his face and the anger that now changed his confused expression to fury.

"Wally, please say something!" Numbuh 3 pleaded, her voice starting to sound a little tearful. "I-I thought you'd be happy to know that I liked you back."

Numbuh 4 clenched his fists and forced himself to calm down. Then he turned to face her. "You know what?" he asked with an irritated voice. "I don't care!"

"What?" Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Yeah, that's right, Kuki!" he growled. "I don't care! Not at all! And you wanna know why? 'Cause when you rejected me yesterday, I started to dislike you, bit by bit! I don't have a cruddy crush on you anymore!" He got up from the bed and shook his head. A resigned laughter forced itself out of his mouth. "I don't even know what I ever saw in you!"

"You can't be serious!" Numbuh 3 sobbed. Tears were running down her face. Her heart really started to feel all painful. It was now her turn to get her heart broken.

"Oh, I'm very serious!" he shouted. "Good night! I'm leaving!"

She couldn't get out a single word. She couldn't do anything but cry. Was this even possible? Or was it all just a bad dream?

Numbuh 4 just left her crying like that. He was so angry he needed to hit something. "Who does she think she is?" he muttered to himself as he walked down the hall, pulling his hair with fury. "I'm not some cruddy toy you can play with when you feel like it! I have real emotions! She can't just suddenly like me! She must be losing it!"

Numbuh 3 face was wet with tears. She dried her eyes with the long sleeve of her purple nightgown, but they were soon filled up with new tears. She couldn't believe he had been this mean to her. Her heart was broken now.

"It's not fair!" she sobbed. "I thought he liked me!" The pain was unspeakable. She now shared the same pain Numbuh 4 had been through the night before.

The sun was now gone, leaving the sky dark and filled with stars. It was a sad night for the entire team. Numbuh 1 was still unconscious, lying in his bed to recover. Numbuh 2 was in a terrible mood and he didn't even feel like eating much. Numbuh 3 was heartbroken, and she cried herself to sleep that night. Numbuh 4 was furious, pummeling the boxing bag around for a few minutes to get most of his rage out. Numbuh 5 was quiet as always, staying in her room and listened to music on her headphones for the rest of the night.

Numbuh 4 sat back in his bed up in his wrestling ring in the big branch. He was angry, hurt and tired. Plus his back hurt from sleeping on the hard floor in the dungeon the night before. He was thinking about Numbuh 3 a lot. He had mixed emotions. It made him sick to his stomach just thinking about it.

Numbuh 3 held her orange Rainbow Monkey tightly in her arms, still crying about what had happened. She wanted to be angry with Numbuh 4, but all she felt now was a broken heart. She had never felt anything like it. It was an indescribable emotion, and she hoped she never had to go through it again.


	9. Planning the battle

**Disclaimer:** Codename: Kids Next Door and its characters do not belong to me. They belong to Mr. Warburton and co. I'm only the brain behind this plot, and some made-up characters.

**A/N:** And a busy week it has been. But here it is!

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 9**

Father was rather displeased with himself and his Delightful Children after the previous day's events. He'd lost Numbuh 1 along with the rest of those snot-nosed Kids Next Door operatives. His plan had failed. He knew that he had something of what he wanted on secret Kids Next Door information through what they drained out of Numbuh 4's brain, but it wasn't enough for him. He needed a lot more codes, and since a fighter usually isn't involved in the secret information, he knew he wouldn't have gotten enough out of that loud-mouthed, brain dead, little pipsqueak.

He smoked his pipe with an angry look on his face, staring into the flames of his fireplace. He was thinking of a plan, a plan that would cause the entire organization's doom. He needed Numbuh 1 to get what he wanted. And he knew that Sector V was weak now. An attack on that tree house of theirs would probably be the smartest thing to do now. If he kidnapped Numbuh 1, now that he was weak, he could finally get things the way he wanted. The battle the day before was not at all wasted. He had weakened the team's defense. So basically, he could say that things were going according to plan.

A few minutes earlier, he'd ordered a hacker that worked for him to go downstairs and see what he could do, and see if he could hack the Kids Next Door mainframe. Father had some rather _delightfully_ vicious plans on what to do to their precious organization, and they would regret even knowing who Father was! Ha! Ha! Ha!

**Meanwhile, i****n the Treehouse:**

Numbuh 2 made his way to the kitchen as soon as he got out of bed. It was a cloudy day, and it had been raining during the night. He started to think of how the weather strangely changed after how the team was feeling. But he just shrugged it off and checked the fridge for anything to eat. He settled with something as simple as butter toast and a big glass of milk. He really wasn't hungry this morning.

Numbuh 5 entered the kitchen a little later. "Hey, Numbuh 2," she said with a worried tone in her voice. "How are you?"

The mechanic shrugged lightly, glaring at the African-American girl. "I'm really not feeling too well. How about you?"

"Not so good," she replied, shaking her head. She sat down next to him by the table. "Numbuh 5 barely caught any shut-eye last night…"

"Me neither, really," he muttered, tilting his now empty glass slightly.

"Did you… uhm, hear anything from Numbuh 3's room last night?" Numbuh 5 asked suddenly, changing the subject.

""Well, no… I'm not sure, really," Numbuh 2 replied. "She's always doing something in her room, so I really don't notice anymore. Why, is something wrong?"

"It might just be Numbuh 5, but it sounded as if Numbuh 4 went up there and argued with her, even if he knew she had to rest," Numbuh 5 said, looking at the mechanic with two worried eyes. "Why would he do that? Is he really that stupid?"

"I-I don't know," he stammered. "Look, I don't want to get involved in that stuff. If he's got issues with her, then that's their problem. Not mine."

"You are best friends, aren't you?" she asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course, all of us guys are," Numbuh 2 replied. "But that doesn't mean I necessarily need to know everything that goes on in Numbuh 4's life. He hasn't told me about anything lately anyways. He seems kinda pissed off. I've noticed that it has something to do with Numbuh 3, but what it is, is none of my business."

"And you call yourself best friends?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Get off my back, would ya!" he snapped, starting to get angry. "We've had some hard times! If Numbuh 4 doesn't want to tell me about his problems, then he doesn't! I'm not gonna _make_ him say it. It's up to him. I don't go around telling him everything about my life either."

"Man, you barely have a life!" she shot back. "There's nothing to tell about it, it's all obvious."

"What ever!" Numbuh 2 whispered angrily. He was trying to keep himself from losing his temper. He got up and carried his empty plate and glass to the counter.

Numbuh 5 felt a little bad about getting angry. She was just freaked out. She knew what kind of danger they all were in right now, and that Father could strike at any time. "Listen, Hoagie. I'm sorry."

"Oh, so Numbuh 5's not sorry this time?" he asked ironically as he turned around to face her. "It's all the sudden _you_?"

"Relax, man!" she said. "I'm sorry, ok? I'm just…"

"You're just what?"

Numbuh 5 suddenly changed her mind. She was about to tell him that she was a little scared, but she knew that by telling him that, he'd probably get a little freaked out himself. They all saw her as a strong person with a clear mind. Telling him how she felt right about now would change the way he thought about her forever. Or so she feared. She really didn't want to scare him, too. And now that Numbuh 1 was down, she was in command. She could handle an attack if it just so happened to occur, but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to win the battle. Her biggest fear was probably her prediction about Father and how she just knew he'd strike now that he knew they were weak.

She looked her team mate in the eye. "Never mind."

"Yeah… I'll be in my room." The chubby pilot left the room, leaving her alone by the table.

She rested her head in her hands while thinking. She wanted to check on Numbuh 1 again. Maybe he'd woken up?

"Morning," she suddenly heard someone say. She looked up to see Numbuh 4 walk across the room. He glanced at her as he made his way over to the counter. He opened the cabinet and picked out the box of pop tarts. He took one out and placed the box back.

"So… slept any?" Numbuh 5 asked as he turned towards her.

He shrugged, avoiding eye contact.

"Numbuh 5's worried about Numbuh 1," she said, lowering her eyes.

Numbuh 4 looked at her as he took a seat right across her by the table. "Yeah, how is he?"

"He's still not awake, or at least he wasn't the last time Numbuh 5 checked on him," she replied, sighing. "As long as nothing will happen to us now that we're down by two operatives."

"I've been worried about that, too," he muttered. "You think Father will do something to us now?"

She shrugged while shaking her head. "Have no idea, Numbuh 4."

"Well, if he does, I'm gonna give him a real woopin'!" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna punch him, and kick him, and bite him!"

Numbuh 5 looked up at him with a disturbed expression. "It's always the violent way with you, ain't it? It's a lot more complicated than that. If Father comes to attack us now, he'll know that we're 2 men short. He'll be prepared to meet us. You can't just go woopin' his butt this time."

Numbuh 4 snickered at her, leaving his pop tart on the table. He actually didn't want it, he just thought it was better if he ate something.

Numbuh 5 sighed. The silence fell between them for a few seconds before she broke it again. "Numbuh 4, were you arguing with Numbuh 3 last night?"

Numbuh 4 looked up slightly, a certain indescribable feeling washing over him. Was it guilt? His eyes met hers. "I-it's not important," he muttered.

She frowned. "Not important? Listen, I know everything. I didn't want to get involved, but the way you were yelling at her last night, I just couldn't help it."

The Australian turned angry. "It's none of your cruddy business!" he snapped. He got up from the chair so fast that it made a sharp sound that pierced through their ears. "I don't see why you care!"

"Whoa, sorry!" she said shocked, yet annoyed by his reaction. "Jeez, didn't know you'd react like that! It was just a question. I care about my friends, you know! I want to know what goes on in your lives, and when I heard about you two-"

He cut her off. "You were not supposed to know anything about this! What did you do, force Kuki to tell you what I said to her the other day?"

"Would you relax?" she asked, irritated. "I always knew you liked her. I just happened to be the one she feels like she can trust. You know, she's really sorry about not taking you seriously here the other day."

Numbuh 4 growled with anger, clenching his fists. "I didn't want you to know!" he shouted. "I want to put it behind me! I want to forget that this ever happened!"

"You can't run away from your feelings, Wally," Numbuh 5 said, giving him a serious look.

"What are you talking about?" he yelled. "I don't have any feelings for her!"

"Yes, you do! You did two days ago. Numbuh 5 seriously doubts that you're over her already." Numbuh 5 rolled her eyes. "So, if you don't have any feelings for her, why are you overreacting like this? And why did you yell at her last night?"

"Stay out of it! I'm warning you, Abby!" He stormed out of the room. He was about to run down to his room, but he suddenly flinched as he noticed someone standing by the door in the hall right outside the kitchen. It was Numbuh 3. She was fumbling with her hands, her eyes filled with tears.

"N-Numbuh 3?" Numbuh 4 stuttered. He glanced back into the kitchen. Numbuh 5 wasn't watching, thankfully.

"You're such a meanie," Numbuh 3 said with a disappointed voice.

Numbuh 4 wasn't sure of what to do. He just stared at her.

Numbuh 3 walked right passed him and into the kitchen. He just stood there for another moment, feeling how his emotions were twisting inside him. What did he actually feel? He noticed how that heartbroken feeling was back inside his chest now. It really hurt. So this meant he still really liked her. Loved her, actually. He suddenly felt slightly guilty about yelling at her the night before.

"You're nuts!" he whispered under his breath to himself. He pushed the thoughts away and made his way back to his room downstairs.

Meanwhile, Numbuh 3 sat down next to Numbuh 5 by the table. "I can't believe him!"

"You heard what he said?" Numbuh 5 asked, frowning at her.

"Yes!" Numbuh 3 started to cry. "I told him about my feelings for him yesterday, and he just got angry with me! He told me he didn't care! And he said that he didn't know what he ever saw in me!" She sobbed and buried her face in her green sleeve-covered hands.

Numbuh 5 patted her back softly. "I'm sorry, gurl… But I'm sure he didn't really mean it. He's just a little cranky because of your reaction to his feelings. This is his way of getting back at you. But he'll come around, I'm sure of it. He really loves you."

**In Father's lounge:**

"Sir? I need you to come take a look at this." The skinny guy in his late 20's pushed his glasses back up on his nose as he looked up at the big armchair with a concerned expression.

"What is it?" Father's voice replied from the other side of the chair.

"Well, it's about the kid whose brain you drained," the man replied. "I actually think we don't need more than the information we already have. I've got an idea."

Father's chair slowly turned around. His eyes burned with enthusiasm in his dark face. "We don't need more, you say, Dennis?"

"I don't think so, sir," Dennis replied, unable to hide his smirk.

Father seemed pleased as he walked over to the hacker. They walked down the stairs through the passage in the wall. The bookcase that used to be there was now blown to smithereens, so it wasn't really that secret anymore.

Dennis sat down by the computer in the room where the MindReader 3000 was. He pointed at the screen. "See that?"

"What does it mean?" Father asked.

"I just figured out how to shut the power down," Dennis explained. He turned around and grinned at his boss. "At the Kids Next Door Moon Base."

Father's eyes widened. "Shut down the power?"

"Yeah!" the hacker replied happily. "And I just got a great idea! What if we synchronize an attack on the base after shutting the power down? Without power, those kids are defenseless! Their backup-generator won't work for long, so that's nothing to worry about. We'll have our army ready outside the base as we shut the power down. They'll attack right away. There'll be one heck of a battle, but I supposed you were aware of that. We'll take over the base and chase those bratty kids out of there."

"Hmmm, I like the way you think, Dennis," Father said, rubbing his chin. "I really like it! It's a great plot!"

"Thank you, sir."

"We'll attack right away," Father said. "I'll go inform my teenagers and tell them to get ready for the biggest battle ever!" He started to walk towards the door. "It's finally time for the Kids Next Door's utter destruction!"

**Back in the Treehouse:**

Numbuh 1 was still in his bed, resting his body and mind. He'd still not shown any signs of waking up soon. Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 came in to check on him once in a while, concerned about him. Numbuh 3 was too hurt to think about her leader for the moment, and Numbuh 4 was angrily acting out his rage on the boxing bag and with the robot in the wrestling ring.

Numbuh 1's room was quiet now. Numbuh 5 had just left him a few minutes ago.

By looking at Numbuh 1's peaceful face, you'd think that he was pleasantly dreaming about something. But all the sudden, Numbuh 1's eyes opened widely and he quickly sat up.

"Father!" he shouted frantically. His voice was soar after the long sleep. His breath was heaving, and he felt sharp pains in his body. He tried to get a grip and calm down. Then he got out of bed as fast as possible. He ran all the way to the kitchen to see if anyone was in there. Nope, it was empty, but he heard the TV from the big lounge. He entered the room to see Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 in each their own couch, him watching TV, her reading.

"Guys!" Numbuh 1 called out to them.

They both looked up with surprise. "Numbuh 1!"

"Where are the others?" the leader asked impatiently.

"They're in their rooms," Numbuh 5 replied. "How are you feeling, boss?"

"It's not important!" he said stressfully. "Have you been in contact with the Moon Base today?"

"Well, no," she muttered. "Numbuh 5 was going to, she was just checking if you'd get up first."

"We have to contact them right away!" Numbuh 1 quickly went to the mission room. He walked up to the big screen and pressed a few buttons on the control table. He expected to see a familiar face from the Moon Base pop up on the screen as he contacted Global Command, but there was no answer. It was as if the entire base was cut off the network. "That's odd," Numbuh 1 muttered to himself.

"What's odd?" Numbuh 5 had just entered the room, now glaring at the big black screen as she walked over to her leader.

"There's no response," Numbuh 1 replied, glancing at her. "What do you think might have happened?"

"A busy network, perhaps?" Numbuh 5 suggested. "Or maybe they've lost power or something. Look, stuff like this happen. We can't expect the worst all the time."

"Yes, we can!" Numbuh 1 rushed out of the room, got out of his pajamas to get some clothes on and sounded the alarm to collect his team. They all gathered in the meeting room.

"What's going on?" they shouted.

"Team, I've just tried to contact Global Command. As there was no response, I fear that Father might behind some sort of attack on the Moon Base. He already has some information." He shot a look at Numbuh 4. The blond fighter lowered his head in shame.

"Enough to move out and try to take down the base," Numbuh 1 continued. "I'm not sure about this, but we're going to check it out anyway, and stand by to contact more bases around the world if needed. Now, Kids Next Door – to the ship!"

**A few minutes before Numbuh 1 had woken up****, at Moon Base:**

"Alright, you slowpokes!" Numbuh 86 shouted to her decommissioning team. "Let's get going! We have another _teenager_ to catch!" She was about to lead her team to the space docks to move out, as the power suddenly went out.

"What was that?"

The entire base erupted in chaos as every single room in it went black. The backup-generator went on, but only in some rooms.

"Kids Next Door – I'm afraid something happened to our power!" Numbuh 362's voice said over the speakers throughout the base. "Get yourselves ready, we might be facing an attack here! We're not sure for how long the backup-generator will hold, so be ready for anything!"

Just as the leader of Global Command ended her message to her operatives, the Moon Base got attacked by and army of about 100 teenagers. They blasted their way through walls as they went on in to take down their enemies.

"Don't just stand there, team!" Numbuh 86 shouted to her team. "Attack them!"

The biggest battle in the history of Kids Next Door had started.


	10. When hell breaks loose

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, none of it, really.

**A/N:** It's finally here! It all breaks loose now. Brace yourselves!

…

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 10**

Numbuh 1 had a hard time keeping his head straight. Everything seemed so blurry, as the ship gained altitude. He felt more and more dizzy, but he ignored it the best he could.

Numbuh 2 was peacefully driving the ship. He didn't feel like saying anything. The tension in the ship was killing him!

Numbuh 5 had the same thought. She kept her eyes and her words to herself, while flipping through an old magazine.

Numbuh 4 had crossed his arms over his chest, his head turned away from Numbuh 3. He knew that he actually should have told her he was sorry. He should have told her that he really did care that she liked him. He wanted to say something to her, but he didn't dare.

Numbuh 3 sat in her seat with her head lowered. She was still thinking about Numbuh 4. The fact that he, the selfish bastard of a crush she had, was sitting right next to her made her feel very uncomfortable. She'd only dared to turn her head towards him and glance at his serious face once, and that was a few minutes ago. Something inside her forced her to look at him again. He noticed it and looked back. She wanted to turn her head away, not exchange looks with him, but she couldn't.

Numbuh 4 was actually glad he had caught her attention. He wrinkled his forehead in concern and forced himself to smile slightly. She didn't return it. She only lowered her eyes for a second before looking back into his emerald ones.

He glanced around quickly before leaning closer to her. "Listen, Kuki… I-I'm sorry…"

Numbuh 3 bit her lip and frowned. She suddenly felt an urge to cry again. She wanted to embrace him more than anything in the world, but she was too upset with him. She would have been so weak if she just forgave him after all that had happened just like that. He was apologizing, but it wasn't enough for her.

"I really am," he continued in a low voice. "I've been a complete a-"

"Stand by, team!" Numbuh 1's voice interrupted from the cockpit. The Moon Base came into view ahead of them now. As they came closer he noticed that things weren't the way they were supposed to. Parts of the base were completely dark. And there was something standing out from the walls by the space docks, as if someone had run their ship directly through the wall.

"Ready for docking, Numbuh 1," Numbuh 2 said as they got even closer.

The leader gave him a quick nod before he kept glaring at the base.

Numbuh 4 suddenly realized something; they were about to face a battle. This was his only chance before it all broke loose. He had to tell her now, incase something happened. But just as he was about to say it, Numbuh 1 announced that it was time to get ready and grab some weapons.

Numbuh 5 got up and went to the back of the ship.

Numbuh 3 hesitatingly got up, too, and followed after her teammate.

Numbuh 4's heart sank. He quickly got out of the seat and followed the girls to the back. He grabbed a weapon and picked one out for Numbuh 2. He went all the way up to the cockpit and handed the pilot his weapon.

"Thanks, man," Numbuh 2 said with a grin.

They now entered the space docks. Five sets of eyes widened as they saw the chaos at the docks. They realized that a battle really had broken loose, and now they had to join in.

"This is worse than I thought," Numbuh 1 muttered as his eyes scanned the destruction of the docks. Then he got a grip. "Come on, team! We have precious little time!"

The ship went in for docking, the door flung open as soon as it had stopped.

"Kids Next Door – battle stations!" Numbuh 1 shouted. Sector V aggressively joined in the fight. The place was crawling with teenagers, all of them armed with strong weapons and armors. A group of them immediately started firing after the newly arrived team. Sector V fired back.

Numbuh 1 noticed Numbuh 86 over by one of the entrances. He quickly made his way over to her, Numbuh 2 covering him. "86 – what is going on?" he shouted.

"I doubt that we know anything else than you guys do, Numbuh 1!" she replied, raising her voice to get him to hear her over the loud shooting. "These are all Father's teenagers. They've obviously synchronized this attack by cutting the power first!"

Numbuh 1 understood it soon enough. Father found out how to cut the power by going through Numbuh 4's information. He started to blame himself for it. He shouldn't have sent Numbuhs 3, 4 and 5 out there alone that day. He should have understood that the Delightful Children always were ready to face them. Besides, it was said that they had been planning something. And that was true. Their plan all along had been to kidnap Sector V to use the MindReader 3000 on them. They were going to get all the information from all of them, securing them victory. And all they'd needed was _one_ operative. But not just any operative – the stupid one!

Numbuh 2 made it all the way over to his leader. "Numbuh 1!" he shouted. "They're too strong! We have to call for reinforcements! They haven't been able to do it here yet because the reception is down throughout the base!"

"Then get back on our ship and call for help!" Numbuh 1 commanded. "We could really need it!"

"Yes, sir!" Numbuh 2 saluted him and ran all the way back to the ship, Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 86 covering him to make sure he'd make it without getting hit.

An operative was hit pretty hard a few feet away from Numbuh 4. The operative fell to the floor while whining about the pain.

Numbuh 4 gritted his teeth in fear of getting hit himself. He saw Numbuh 1 over by Numbuh 86 and thought maybe he could get an explanation for the battle if he went over there. He glanced around to make sure it was safe enough. Then he made a run for it without asking anyone to back him up.

Numbuh 3 gasped as she saw him run off. Without even thinking, she followed after him.

"Numbuh 1! What the crud is going on?" Numbuh 4 cried out as he reached his leader. Numbuh 3 arrived a few seconds later.

"Father cut the power and sent the teens up here!" Numbuh 1 explained.

"How could they have cut the power?" Numbuh 3 asked.

"Think about it for a second," Numbuh 1 replied and raised an eyebrow. Then he gave Numbuh 4 a glare.

"Oooh…" came Numbuh 3's reply.

Numbuh 4 lowered his eyes. Then he looked at his leader with an angry expression. "I didn't mean to be caught by the Delightfuls!" he shouted. "It was an accident! Stop blaming me for it!"

"I'm not blaming you, Numbuh 4," the leader told him. "I know you didn't mean for it to happen. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I let you three out there alone. I already know that it takes the five of us to bring them down."

Numbuh 4's face brightened up a little. The guilt slowly slid off of him now. He knew that Numbuh 1 was a fair leader, who never made anyone feel more worthy than the others. Numbuh 4 gave his leader a smile before turning back to continue the battle.

"Darn!" Numbuh 86 shouted. "This is terrible! We're losing!"

"Don't worry," Numbuh 1 replied. "Numbuh 2's calling for reinforcements right now. We'll win this thing! Now, keep shooting!"

"I have to inform Numbuh 362!" Numbuh 86 told him. "She must know what's going on and that we're hopefully getting more help soon." She glanced over to the entrance behind a bunch of teenagers. One of the only ways to get to Numbuh 362's office was through there. It was at least the shortest way. She looked back at Numbuhs 1, 3 and 4. She needed someone to come with her just incase. "Numbuh 4!" she shouted to catch his attention. "You're coming with me to back me up!"

"Right!" Numbuh 4 replied and got ready to follow her.

Numbuh 86 made a run for it over to the teenagers who were blocking the way. Numbuh 4 shot at them aggressively as he followed right behind Numbuh 86. The teens fired back and nearly hit them a few times. When Numbuh 86 was close enough, one of them tried to grab her.

Numbuh 4 shot him on the hand, causing him to get an electric shock. Numbuh 86 dodged away from the scene. She then made it to the entrance. Numbuh 4 was right behind her.

"Get those brats!" one of the teens shouted. Five of them started to chase the two operatives.

"Oh, crud!" Numbuh 4 exclaimed and started to run even faster.

From back at the docks, Numbuh 3 had been watching as the scene over by the entrance had taken place. She suddenly feared for Numbuh 4's safety. She had no idea where these thoughts came from, but she really did love him, even after him being so stupid. In the next moment, she was on the teenagers' tail.

"Numbuh 4, we have to hide!" Numbuh 86 told him in a whisper as they ran side by side down the long hall.

"No way!" he replied. "I'm not hiding from these dorks!"

"We have to!" she argued. "Now, come on!" She grabbed his hand, and as they rounded the next corner, she dragged him under the stairs that were placed there. She knew they were there and that it would be a perfect hiding place. At least for as long as they needed it.

The teenagers ran right passed them and rounded the next corner.

Numbuh 86 sighed in relief. "That was close." She started to gasp for her breath.

"We could have taken them down," Numbuh 4 muttered. He was breathing heavily after the long run.

She couldn't help but smile at what he'd said. She found it rather cute, the way he always acted so tough. A crowded out thought came back to her. One time, not too long ago, she had told him that she thought he was cute. She wondered if he still remembered it. If he did, did he even care about it?

"Numbuh 4?" she started, looking straight into his eyes.

"What?" He looked back at her.

She hesitated for a second. "If anything happens here today, I want you to know that… well, I still think you're cute…"

Numbuh 4 didn't have much time to reply before she grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss. He tried to push her away, but then gave in.

They broke apart as they heard a gasp nearby. Both of them looked up to see Numbuh 3 standing there and glaring at them with her weapon in front of her. She had a heartbroken look on her face. Her chin was shaking now. Tears filled up in her violet eyes. She tried to say something, but she couldn't. She just ran off, crying.

"Kuki!" Numbuh 4 shouted and got out from the hiding place. "Wait!" He almost tripped over his own feet as he started to run after her. She had disappeared down another hall. He ran as fast as he possible could.

Numbuh 86 was left along under the stairs. She suddenly felt terrible. First of all, she had hurt one of her friends by kissing the guy that they both liked. Second, she knew she'd never win Numbuh 4's heart.

She stayed under the stairs for another few minutes, just to collect herself, before running off to Numbuh 362's office.

**Back at the space docks:**

More and more of the KND operatives had to give in to the power of the teens. They were clearly losing the battle. The teens were now spreading out, making their way through the halls.

"Numbuh 5 says we get the heck outta here!" Numbuh 5 shouted out to Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 2. "They're all done for! We can still save ourselves and wait out there until the others show up."

"There's no way I'm leaving the base now!" Numbuh 1 shouted back. "I'm not going to leave all of them behind! Two of our own are in there right now!" He pointed towards the entrance Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 had left through earlier. "We can't leave them!"

"But, Numbuh 1!" Numbuh 2 started. "We're not going to make it unless we get help!" He agreed with Numbuh 5.

"Then you two go!" Numbuh 1 replied. "I'm staying here!"

Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 exchanged looks. "We're not leaving you," Numbuh 2 said.

"Look who we have here!" a familiar voice said. They all turned to look at the person. The helmet disappeared into the suit and Cree's face came into view. "Well, if it isn't little Abigail and her playmates."

"Hello, sister," Numbuh 5 growled at her. "Why am I not surprised to see you here?"

"We're just here to take over the Moon Base," Cree told her. "You guys could give up now, or you can stay here and let me kick your butts. It's up to you."

"We'd rather die that give up!" Numbuh 1 shouted at her.

"Is that so?" Cree asked, grinning. "Fine!" She gave Numbuh 1 a kick in the guts, causing him to fall to the floor with a cry of pain.

"'Ey, leave him alone!" Numbuh 5 cried and aimed at her sister. But before she could pull the trigger, Cree kicked it out of her hands. Then she kicked her behind the knee to make her fall to the floor as well.

"Cree – why are you doing this?" Numbuh 2 asked with a tiny voice he barely recognized.

"Hmm, let's see," Cree said. "Oh, I know! Because I'm evil!" She kicked Numbuh 2 in the face. He fell to the floor, too, dropping his weapon in the process. Cree laughed evilly.

"You're so going down, Cree!" Numbuh 5 shouted as she climbed to her feet.

"I think not, Abby," Cree replied. "I'll leave you with a choice; get out of here now, or stay and let us kick your butts until there's nothing left of them to kick! And this time, I swear, it'll hurt a lot more!"

It was a hard decision to make for Numbuh 1. But he couldn't argue with his body much longer. It needed more rest before he passed out. He was just getting dizzier now. "Guys, I think we should head back to the ship," he finally said.

Numbuh 2 got up and gave Numbuh 5 a hand with helping their leader up from the floor. They quickly got back into the ship. More operatives had been warned. They got into their ships as well. Almost no one stayed behind to fight. They realized that the battle was lost. But they knew that the war was far from over.

**Somewhere inside one of the Moon Base's many halls**:

Numbuh 3 couldn't run anymore. Her sobbing made it harder for her to breathe. She sat down on the floor with her back against the wall. She threw her gun down next to her and buried her face in her green sleeve-covered hands. She could hardly believe what she had just seen. Numbuh 4 liked another girl! And not just any girl – Numbuh 86! She couldn't get the image out of her head, the way they were kissing each other under those stairs. She wished it had been a dream, but she knew it was real.

"It's not fair!" she sobbed.

Numbuh 4 was about to collapse now. He'd been running too much. But he refused to give up on Numbuh 3. He had to find her!

Suddenly, he heard sobbing nearby. He knew it was her. He quickly went down the hall he heard the sobbing coming from. After he'd rounded a corner, he saw her sitting there in the dark hall all by herself, her face buried in her hands. It hurt him to see her like that. He got a weird feeling in his stomach.

"Numbuh 3?" he said with a sore voice. He cleared his throat and walked closer to her.

She looked up at him with teary eyes. "G-go away, Numbuh 4!" she said with a tearful voice.

"Kuki, it's not what you think!" Numbuh 4 told her and sat down next to her on the floor, still trying to get his breath back. "Numbuh 86 kissed _me_! I didn't want to kiss her! I don't even like her! But she just grabbed me, and before I knew it she had her mouth all over me! Yuck!"

"It didn't look like you thought it was yucky," she replied and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"I did!" he claimed. "I tried to fight her off, but she's really strong! Look, the thought of kissing her has never even crossed my mind. If I were to kiss anyone… it'd be you…"

Numbuh 3 stared at him, noticing how his face turned slightly red in the dim lights. It still wasn't enough for her. "I-I don't believe you… You're just saying this to make me stop crying."

"Yes, I'm saying it because I don't want you to cry, but I'm also saying it because I like you," he replied. "The way you like me, remember?"

"That's not what you said the last time," she muttered, her eyes filling up with tears again.

"I'm so sorry about that," he sighed. "I was being really stupid!"

"Yes, you were!" she agreed, turning her head away from him. "You were so mean to me. It really hurt. And you told me you didn't care if I liked you, because you hated me!" She started to sob again.

"I never hated you," he replied. "And when I said I didn't care, I don't know what came over me. I guess I… wanted to get back at you… But I'm really sorry about that. I was being really childish, and it will never happen again. I promise." He laid a hand on her shoulder. "I really care about you, Kuki…"

Numbuh 3 looked at him, stared into his eyes. "Really?"

"Of course I do," he replied. He blushed and felt his heart beating faster. "I… I love you…"

Numbuh 3 seemed surprised to hear that, but at the same time happy. She shyly smiled and lowered her head, flattered. She was blushing, too, now. Just as she was about to tell him that she loved him as well, a bunch of teenagers rounded the corner.

"Hey!" one of them shouted. "Get them!"

Out of pure instinct, Numbuh 4 got up and gritted his teeth. When two of the teens went for him, he kicked them, hit them and bit them. There was no way in hell he'd let them capture him, and especially not Numbuh 3!

Numbuh 3 got up, too. She picked up her weapon and fired at the teens. Two others ran over to her and grabbed her before she managed to run away. "Help!" she cried.

"No!" Numbuh 4 shouted. "Let her go!" He was distracted by this. The teens he was fighting with now grabbed him. One of them forced his hands on his back and pushed one of his arms up painfully. Numbuh 4 cried out in pain and fell to the floor, squirming. The teen pulled him back on his feet by his hoodie.

"Wally!" Numbuh 3 cried. She looked at the teen that was holding him. "Don't you hurt him!"

The teens completely ignored their cries. "Bring them to the others," the leader of the gang of teens told the others. "And make sure that blond one is tightly tied to something. He's a live one."

Four of the teens left the hall with the two operatives in their grips. They brought them up to Numbuh 362's office, where also she was held prisoner. Three other operatives were there, too, all of them with their arms tied behind their backs, sitting on the floor. Numbuh 86 was one of them. Two teens stood in there, guarding them.

Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4's hands were tied behind their backs as well, but Numbuh 4 was also tied to a chair.

"I don't understand how one of the fighters could be stuck in the halls," one of the teens said to the others. "I thought all of them were fighting at the docks."

"It doesn't matter," another one replied. He turned around and took his helmet off. It was Chad. "Well, hi there, Numbuh 4!" he greeted.

"I'm not surprised to see you, if that's what you're thinking!" Numbuh 4 muttered with an irritated voice.

"I wasn't expecting that either, "Chad replied. "Want to know why you're captured here?"

"What ever!" Numbuh 4 growled.

Chad grinned evilly. "We chased away all your friends. They all ran away, even Numbuh 1! You, Numbuh 4, were the only fighter that hasn't ran away. The rest of the operatives in this room are mostly kids with brain capacity. One inventor, one guard and hacker." He pointed at Numbuh 64 and Numbuh 35. "A worthless operative." He now pointed at Numbuh 3, and next he pointed at Numbuh 86. "The leader of the decommissioning team, and ever the leader herself." He glared at Numbuh 362.

"You'll regret this, Chad!" Numbuh 362 warned him.

"I doubt that," he replied. "Now where was I? Ah, yes!" He pointed at Numbuh 4. "And one operative that can't even spell his own number."

"Oh, you're dead now, Chad!" Numbuh 4 shouted. "Get over her and I'll show you how to spell! I'll show you how to spell 'ouch'!"

Chad laughed at him. "You know, I always thought you were a funny guy." He then got serious. "But your jokes can't save you out of this one, _Wally_! You six are the only operatives left in the Moon Base. The rest of them ran away. We're in complete control now."

**Somewhere in space:**

Numbuh 1, even with his dizziness, decided to take complete control over the attack they were going to make on the Moon Base. He called all the sectors around the world together for an attack. Many ships met up with them out there in space.

"We're ready, Numbuh 1!" Numbuh 721's voice said over the transmitter.

"We're also ready to roll!" Numbuh 14's voice said.

More replies came for the transmitter as all the leaders of the different sectors could announce that they were completely ready to bring the teens down once and for all.

"Alright, let's go!" Numbuh 1 exclaimed. "Stand by, Numbuh 721. You're with my team. Unfortunately, we lost two of them up there earlier, so we're short in numbers."

"Right," Numbuh 14 replied. "Sorry about your team."

"We will avenge them," Numbuh 1 said solemnly. "So, come on."

There were many of them. All handmade ships with the KND logo on them. They moved closer to the Moon Base, ready to attack the teens. They wanted to avenge it all - all their hurt operatives, their kidnapped operatives, their leader, and not to mention, the base itself. They did not tolerate this! And now they would show those stupid teens who the best was!

The remains of Sector V was pretty pissed off by now, so they wanted to be one of the first ships that went in for docking, as Numbuh 1 had told them all. They were followed by Sector N, Numbuh 14's team, without Numbuh 13, that was…

Sectors V and N stormed out of their ships and attacked the teens by the space docks, as the teens had been expecting them back. There was an entire army of them there.

Numbuh 1 fired his weapon the best he could. Some teens fell unconscious to the floor.

More ships came in for docking behind them. Sector after sector joined in the brutal battle. Both teens and operatives started to whine about pain around the docks as the battle got worse.

"Numbuh 5!" Numbuh 1 yelled. "I'll go up to Numbuh 362's office!"

"Numbuh 5's coming with you!" Numbuh 5 replied, shouting over the loud sound of the battle. "She ain't staying here, at least!" she added as she saw the surprised look on her leader's face.

"Hey, wait for me!" Numbuh 2 shouted after them as they started run towards the entrances. He quickly got moving and ran after them. A few more operatives followed behind Sector V, knowing that it would be a bad idea to let them go in there alone. And being angry with the teens, as Numbuh 1 was now, wouldn't do any good.

Numbuh 1 and the others had to fight their way through the halls. There were teenagers everywhere, and they were waiting for them. Eventually, they all made it up to the office. Numbuh 1 kicked the door in. The two teen guards that were in there immediately attacked the gang of kids that arrived through the door.

"Numbuh1!" Numbuh 3 cheered.

"We knew you'd do it!" Numbuh 4 joined in, grinning widely.

Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 handled one of the guards, while some of the other operatives that had come along took the other one. Both the teens fell unconscious to the floor.

Numbuh 1 began to free Numbuh 362.

"Great job, Numbuh 1," she congratulated him and sent him a warm smile.

"It was nothing," he replied and returned the smile. "It's my duty." He quickly got Numbuh 86 loose as well.

Soon, all of the operatives were free.

"Right! Now, let's get outta here!" Numbuh 4 exclaimed.

"Not so fast, Kids Next Dorks!" a voice said from the doorway. Chad was standing there with an army of teenagers.

Numbuh 1 lowered his eyebrows at the former KND operative. "So, we meet again, Chad."

"I was thinking of changing that," Chad replied. "How about we _never_ meet each other again, huh?"

"Fine by me," Numbuh 1 muttered.

"Good!" Chad smiled evilly at him. "Then I say it's time for you to _grow up_!" He pulled out some kind of ray device. "Recognize this thing? That's right, Father had it remade after you stepped on it." It was the age-changing-device. In a new form, but it was definitely it.

"How could he have remade it?" Numbuh 1 asked with a frown. "He didn't even make it in the first place."

"No, but he has his workers," Chad replied. "He made them pick up the pieces and fix it. It really wasn't that hard. But this time, I was thinking of destroying it after I change your age! You'll never be able to go back ever again!" He aimed the device at Numbuh 1 and fired.

Numbuh 1 dodged out of the way. The ray missed him by an inch. There was no way he'd go back to being an adult!

Chad fired again, almost hitting Numbuh 362. "Darn it! Would you stay still?"

"You wish!" Numbuh 1 shot back and aimed his weapon at the blond teenager. But before he got to shoot him, Chad fired the device at him again, this time hitting him. There was a flash of green neon light. Everybody covered their eyes.

"Numbuh 1!" Numbuh 5 cried. A gasp escaped her lips as she saw the result. More gasping filled the room.

Numbuh 1 had turned into a teenager this time. He checked out his body and let out a tiny cry. "Oh, no… Not a teenager!" His clothes were too small for him, and his feet were aching since the shoes were too tight.

"Crap!" Chad shouted. "You weren't supposed to become a teenager! You were going to turn into a really old man! What's wrong with this thing?" He examined the device.

This gave Numbuh 1 the time to attack him, kicking the device out of his hands and give him a punch in the face.

"Get that device!" Numbuh 362 commanded and threw herself after it.

More operatives tried to get a hold of it, but it fell on the floor right before them. Numbuh 4 was about to jump out and get it, but one of the teenagers that had arrived with Chad kicked it out of his reach. Numbuh 4 hit the floor with a loud thud.

Numbuh 2 tried to get it next, but before he could get it, one of the teens grabbed a hold of his pants and held him back.

"I want that device!" Chad shouted to his army. "Get it!"

After a lot of battling between teens and kids, the device landed in front of Numbuh 1. He picked it up, twisted the little wheel on it and pointed it at himself. He fired it and the room was once again filled with green neon light. He turned back into a kid.

"Yay!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed and waved her arms. "Go Numbuh 1!"

"No!" Chad cried. "You weren't supposed to do that!"

"Oh, is that so?" Numbuh 1 asked and smiled evilly at him. He twisted the wheel and aimed at Chad. "See you in the nursery!" He fired it at him, watching as the green light filled the room. He stared at his work.

There he was, Chad, lying on the floor. He'd turned into a little baby. A diaper was wrapped around his lower body. He started to wail.

"Awww, baby!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed and walked over to him. She picked him up and cradled him in her arms. He immediately stopped crying. "Oh, how cute!"

Numbuh 1 smiled evilly at the other teenagers in the room, who had gathered themselves in a group over by the door. "Anyone else?" He stared at them in silence for a second. Then he aimed the device at them. "Aw, what the heck! I'm not the one who's going to change your diapers anyway!" He fired at them, changing them all into little babies. He then turned around to face his fellow operatives.

"Good job, Numbuh 1!" Numbuh 362 told him, smiling at him with pride.

They all got down to the docks quickly to join in the battle again. Numbuh 1 used the device to turn many of the teenagers into babies. When the teens realized that too many of them had turned into babies, they knew they wouldn't win. The Kids Next Door would just keep on turning them into babies if they wouldn't give up.

"Retreat!" Cree suddenly cried out to the teens. "Everybody back to the ships! We can't win this thing!"

"Hey, sis!" Numbuh 5 walked over to her older sister, cradling baby Chad in her arms. "Here you go. Take care of your little baby." She handed her sister the baby and walked away, laughing.

"You'll regret this, Abigail!" Cree shouted after her, her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, what ever!" Numbuh 5 replied and waved her off.

The teens picked up the babies and got them all into their ships.

"Numbuh 1!" Cree called out after all the babies were safe inside the ships. "Hand me that device! You won't be needing it anymore!"

"You're right," Numbuh 1 replied. "I won't need it." He looked at it and rubbed his chin for a second. Then he threw it on the floor and stepped on it roughly. "And neither will you!"

Cree's chin practically hit the floor. The she got really angry, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You'll pay for that, you little brat!"

"I'll worry when that day comes," he replied and smiled. "Now, get the heck out of here!" All his fellow operatives, hundreds of them, aimed their weapons at the teenage girl.

Cree growled and gritted her teeth. Then she walked back to her ship. The door closed shut behind her. All the ships left the base, leaving a happy bunch of KND operatives by the docks. They cried out in happiness and congratulated each other.

Numbuh 1 suddenly felt a little lightheaded. The floor was spinning beneath him. He fell to his knees. His body was exhausted, it needed rest desperately now.

"Oh, my God!" Numbuh 5 cried and ran over to her leader. "I knew your body was too weak for this." She tugged him up on his feet again. "Come on, let's get you on the ship. You need to go home and rest." She led him over to the ship by the docks. "Hey, Numbuh 2! Get over here, we have to leave now!"

When Numbuh 2 noticed his leader condition, he ran over to them and helped Numbuh 5 get their leader into the ship.

"Wow, Numbuh 1 looks awful, "Numbuh 4 muttered to Numbuh 3.

"Yep," she replied. "Come on, let's go." She grabbed his hand and started to walk over to the ship.

"Hey, Sector V!" Numbuh 362 called after them. "You guys rock! Go home and get some rest! You deserve it!"

Numbuh 5 smiled at her. Numbuh 2 waved. Numbuh 1 managed to glance over at her with a weak smile. Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 saluted her with huge grins on their faces. Then they all disappeared into the ship, and the door was closed shut behind them. A few seconds later, the ship was ready for takeoff.

**Later, i****n Father's mansion:**

"I am most unsatisfied," Father's voice said from behind his chair that was facing away from the one he was talking to.

Cree lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry, Father. They were too strong." She swallowed down hard.

Father's chair turned around. His eyes were burning at her. "It was impossible to fail this time, but you managed to fail anyhow! And what about the babies? What are we supposed to do with them?"

"Have the engineers make another one of those age-changing-devices?" Cree suggested.

Father thought about it for a second. "Hmm, yes, we could do that." Then his eyes burned at her again. "Get out of my sight! I have to think!"

"Yes, Father," Cree replied and left the room in a hurry.


	11. A night to remember

**Disclaimer:** Geno still not own. You still not sue!

**A/N:** This is probably the fluffiest chapter I've ever written. You'll know when you've read through it… So, just to warn ya, if you're not a fan of 3/4, then you should really not read this chapter. Genosythe will not be held responsible for any seizure or heart attack of any kind.

Right, then. Time to read.

…

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 11**

Numbuh 5 entered the living room. Three pair of eyes met her expressionless face as she came through the doorway.

"How is he doing?" Numbuh 2 asked concerned.

"He's doing a lot better," Numbuh 5 replied. "Numbuh 5 made him eat the pancakes."

"That's great!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed with a smile. "Then he'll be all better, and then everything will be back to normal, and we can go on missions!" She poked Numbuh 4, who was sitting next to her on the couch. "Won't that be swell?"

Numbuh 4 smiled and nodded.

Numbuh 5 went over to the other couch, where Numbuh 2 was sitting, and sat down. She sighed.

"What's wrong?" Numbuh 2 asked, frowning at her.

"Well, Numbuh 5 just has this feeling that this ain't the end," she replied.

"Adult fighting has no end," he told her.

"Yes, Numbuh 5 knows that," she muttered. "But she means about the Delightful Children. And Father. The chances for him leaving the Kids Next Door alone are low. He'll show up soon to get revenge, and when he does, he'll be prepared."

"So… you're worried about Father?" Numbuh 2 asked and glanced over at the two other operatives. They were both busy watching TV and talking about something. He was relieved that they didn't pay attention. It wasn't such a good idea to get them to worry about this as well, even though it was pretty obvious Father would attack them soon enough. He suddenly felt how he also got worried about this.

"Yeah, a little worried," Numbuh 5 said in a low voice. "But never mind." She shook her head as if she was trying to get rid of the thoughts. "It's not important. To worry about it now, that is." She leaned back on the couch and scratched her head.

"I agree," Numbuh 2 said. "We'll worry about this all later. It's only been 24 hours since the war went on up there. There's no way Father is prepared to face us again just yet."

…

Later, when the day had turned to night and everybody in the Treehouse were wondering about going to bed or staying up just a little longer to watch a late night show on TV, Numbuh 1 was still resting in his room. He was constantly tired, and this was a rather unpleasant state for him to be in. The thought about not being ready in time if they were to go on a mission was bugging him. And what worse was was that he knew he wouldn't be ready if the Treehouse suffered an attack. There were so many things to worry about. But he had promised Numbuh 5 to stop thinking about it and leave the thinking to the others. She told him that she would be angry with him if he let these thoughts bother him now that he needed to rest his head. If he just stopped thinking, he would get better sooner. But if he kept thinking, the thoughts would wear him out again. He knew that, too.

He glanced at his empty plate on the bedside table. He had forced himself to eat something during the day. So far, it was only the two pancakes for breakfast and a sausage for dinner. The thought of eating more now made him sick.

Suddenly, he heard the others laugh from the living room. They were having a great time. He heard someone run, and someone else followed. By the voices, he guessed it was Numbuh 4 who had done something to anger Numbuh 2, and was now running for his life, laughing. This made Numbuh 1 smile. He loved the innocence of those two when they were playing with each other like the little kids they were.

Numbuh 1 decided to go out to the living room for a few minutes, just to spend some time with the others. He felt so alone in his room now, something that was rather strange. He usually enjoyed his time alone in his room.

He got out of the bed and left the room. He walked all the way to the living room. The voices got closer. As he entered the room, Numbuh 4 came running towards him and hid himself behind his leader.

"Numbuh 1!" he shouted. "You've gotta help me! Numbuh 2's gone mad!"

Numbuh 2 followed, but stopped in front of Numbuh 1. "He's being a jerk!"

Numbuh 1 could see that Numbuh 2 was partly wet from the head and down to his waist. He couldn't help but smile as he realized what Numbuh 4 had done.

"He threw his lemonade at me!" Numbuh 2 continued and pointed an accusing finger at the little Australian behind Numbuh 1. "I was just kidding about throwing mine at him, but then he actually splashed me with his!"

"Now, Numbuh 4," Numbuh 1 said and looked behind him. "That was not very nice of you." He was still smiling.

"I know," Numbuh 4 replied and grinned.

The girls let out another laugh over by the orange couch.

The five kids settled down in front of the TV for another hour. Then Numbuh 5 told them that they probably should go to bed soon, seeing as they still had to gather strength incase of an attack. Especially Numbuh 1. She saw how exhausted he looked.

They all went to their rooms and got ready for bed.

Numbuh 4 did his best at trying to fall asleep, but he just couldn't. Something was bugging him. Something about Numbuh 3… He knew what it was. He had told her he loved her. He suddenly felt a little stupid for telling her the truth, the whole truth as it was. He actually loved her and he was worried she didn't love him back. That she only _liked_ him. He didn't want her to _like_ him, he wanted her to love him.

He remembered that when he had told her he loved her, she didn't answer. But he couldn't remember why she hadn't. He searched his mind, trying to replay the moment he had said it in his head. They were up at the Moon Base. He was comforting her after she believed that he was in love with Numbuh 86. Well, at least because she had kissed him. Numbuh 3 was very upset. Then Numbuh 4 talked to her and calmed her down. And told her the truth. He suddenly remembered now. They had been interrupted by the teenagers. But she had acted like she enjoyed knowing of it later on when they went home. Right?

He sighed and tried to fall asleep on his left side. But he just wasn't comfortable enough. He let out an irritated cry and pulled the blanket away. He then got up and walked over to the ladder. He quickly made his way down to the floor and left his room. The hall outside was left in complete darkness. He switched on the light and walked through it. Up some stairs, up a few more stairs down a long hall, down another long hall. Finally, he stood facing the green curtain that separated Numbuh 3's room with the dark hall. He had no idea why he actually went up there, he just felt like he had to talk to her.

Numbuh 4 leaned closer to the curtain and held it to the side just enough to let himself peek inside her room. The little light beside her bed was on, dimly lighting up the room in an orange colored light. Numbuh 3 was sleeping in her bed now. He could see the blanket gently moving up and down as she took a new breath and let it out again.

Numbuh 4 suddenly had second thoughts about this. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go in there now and waking her up. Waking her up from her precious and needed sleep just to ask if she loved him back…

He felt that it was wrong, but at the same time, he had this urge to just go in there and talk to her. After arguing with himself for a while, he finally took a step inside. He crossed the room silently in his orange footie pajamas. When he had made it over to her bed, he gazed at her sleeping face. She was very beautiful now. In a way, he didn't feel like disturbing this beautiful girl, sleeping so quietly in her bed, hugging one of her stuffed animals to her chest.

Suddenly, he felt a sneeze coming on. He knew he couldn't hold it back. He backed away from the bed and covered his face as he sneezed, a muffled sound escaping his nose and mouth. He usually sneezed a lot louder, but because of Numbuh 3, he didn't dare to make much noise at all, fearing he'd waken the raven haired beauty.

He sneezed again. Numbuh 3 moved a little, making a sleepy sound.

"Numbuh 3?" Numbuh 4 whispered and wiped his face in his sleeve.

Numbuh 3 groaned sleepily and opened her eyes a little to look up at his face. "Numbuh 4?"

"Hi," he said, grinning sheepishly. "Err, did I wake you?"

She rubbed her eyes and looked up at him again. "Yes, silly," she replied with a sleepy voice. She smiled at him and stretched.

"I'm sorry, Kuki…" Numbuh 4 muttered. "I just wanted to see you."

She sat up. "What do you mean?"

"Like, I wanted to talk to you, I guess," he replied. "But I also wanted to… uhm, see you…" He blushed slightly.

"Aw, that's cute of you, Wally," she said. "Wanna sit down?"

He carefully sat down in front of her on the bed. "Listen, Kuki… I wanted to talk to you about this whole liking thing."

Her smile faded. "What? You mean you changed your mind? Again..?"

"No!" he quickly replied, suddenly realizing it had come out a little too loud. He raised his eyebrows in worry. "No, it's not that. But… I was kind of afraid you had…"

She frowned. "No… I still like you, if that's what you're worried about."

He sighed and avoided eye contact. "Yeah, you _like_ me…"

The Japanese just stared at him.

"Kuki, do you remember what I told you up at the Moon Base?" he asked looking back at her again. "I just got worried that I was the only one who felt it that way… You remember what I said, right?"

She smiled. "Of course I do, silly! You said you loved me."

"Yeah," he muttered, turning deep crimson in the dim orange light. "I really meant it, too… I'm just worried that you don't feel the same way." He looked her in the eyes. "Do you?"

"I think you know the answer to that question just as well as I do," she said, trying to hide a little smile.

Numbuh 4 looked away and bit his lip anxiously. He really feared the worst, though he was hoping that he was wrong. A wave of bad feelings flushed over him. He suddenly felt sick and wanted to go back to his room.

Damn all these cruddy emotions!

Numbuh 3 suddenly took one of his hands in hers. This made him look back into her eyes. She smiled sweetly. "Wallabee – I love you, too."

Numbuh 4's jaw dropped. He wanted to say something, but there was just no way to say it. He realized he had stopped breathing. He exhaled, still shocked. "You… I though… Well, I… And you…" He shook his head to get a grip and shouted; "You love me?"

Numbuh 3 giggled. "Yes!"

Numbuh 4's face lit up. He smiled. He was so happy to hear it. The words he had been waiting so long to hear was now said.

"I love you, Wally," she repeated.

"You have no idea how much I love you, Kuki!" the Australian exclaimed. He grabbed her and hugged her tightly. She threw her arms around him and hugged him back. Her eyes were all watery. She made a sniffing sound. Numbuh 4 suddenly let go of her and looked at her.

"Are you ok?" he asked. "Why… why are you crying?"

A tear ran down Numbuh 3's cheek. "I'm sorry," she said and smiled. "I'm just so happy that we both love each other and all."

What she had said made him smile. He almost wanted to cry of happiness too, but he tried not to. He felt that his eyes got a little watery, but he forced the tears back. "Me, too, Kuki. I'm glad we finally have each other." He touched her cheek, wiping away the tear. Then he moved closer, sitting on his knees, and carefully hugged her again. When they broke apart, they stared at each other for a few seconds. It felt like forever to them.

Numbuh 4 carefully moved his face closer to Numbuh 3's. His heart was racing. Their lips touched in a careful yet confident kiss. He pulled back as he noticed that he was trembling.

They were both blushing like crazy. Numbuh 3 twisted her long purple sleeves and smiled awkwardly to herself. Numbuh 4 scratched his arm and gritted his teeth.

"That was the most perfect moment ever," Numbuh 3 said and giggled. She then moved closer to him and kissed him again. It was better this time. Numbuh 4 wrapped his arms around her lower back and she held her arms around his shoulders, both of them standing on their knees on the bed. She was still a little taller than him while standing like this, but it didn't matter. Not to them. It was as if it wasn't real. Like in a dream. A sweet dream. They both thought this was too good to be true.

Numbuh 4 was hoping it would stop being so awkward after a while. He was still a little shaky. He noticed that Numbuh 3 wasn't totally calm either.

Numbuh 3 felt like she never wanted to let go of him. She was so happy she had realized her true feelings about this boy. And she could hardly believe where she was right now! She was in the arms of the boy she loved more than anyone else in the world. Even if he hadn't said so, she knew he felt the same way.

Numbuh 4 never went back to his room that night. He stayed in Numbuh 3's room, tucked together with her under the blanket. They were lying face to face, holding around each other, gently. And they felt like nothing in the world could break them apart. Nothing…


	12. The Delightfuls' revenge

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this cartoon and its characters.

**A/N:** How will Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4's relationship turn out? What will Father do? What's going on with the rest? You'll find out most of that… NOW!

…

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 12**

The sun was rising. It was early morning, and in a mansion down the lane from the KND Treehouse of Sector V, five glassy blue-eyed children walked down a long hall, on their way to finish the battle they had started a long time ago. It was now time to destroy Sector V, once and for all!

Everything had been planned carefully. There was nothing left to wonder about this time. They knew exactly what to do, and how to do it.

"We shall not fail this time," they said to themselves in unison. "It is not possible now. Not with our evil plans. Father will be proud of us."

They walked through a door that led to a garage. It held several big machines and robots that were useless against Sector V and their 2x4 technology. The Delightful Children had had to find that out the hard way. This time they were using the biggest and most destructive one of them. And they knew exactly how to use it this time.

The machine was more like a big ship. But there was five claws installed in the front of it. Five claws to fit the number of KND operatives they were going to capture and place in the back of the ship. In the back was a big empty room, made to hold captives. At the backside of the ship there was a big platform that was for the moment the back wall. The cockpit of the ship could be taken off to abandon the rest of it and be used as a smaller ship. The back of the ship had no flying functions. It was merely a prison cell with a platform. Nothing more.

The five children walked onboard and got comfortable in the cockpit. They looked at each other with evil grins. Then the blond boy in the front pulled out a key from the front pocket of his jacket. Father had given them permission to use this ship for today's battle. In fact, there was not going to be a battle. The Delightful Children From Down the Lane had an idea that made them unstoppable.

…

**Meanwhile, in the Treehouse:**

Numbuh 4 was up, now making his way to his room. He had woken up a few minutes ago, a little startled as he remembered what had happened the night before. And the fact that he was sleeping next to his love made him even more freaked out. He was afraid of the changes. What would happen now, now that they had admitted their love for each other and kissed? He wasn't so sure if he wanted to know. He wasn't exactly found of changes. But don't get him wrong, he was happy they had told each other about their feelings of one another. And he was especially happy they had kissed. He had wanted that to happen for a long time. Now it had. But this was the morning after the night, and it left him with so many thoughts that his head was about to burst!

He reached his room and got out of his pajamas to change into his everyday clothes. He knew he couldn't sleep any longer. He was too awake for it now anyway. But he was getting hungry, so he decided to go get some cereal.

Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 5 were already up, both of them sitting by the table as he came in.

"Numbuh 4?" Numbuh 5 said surprised. "Is that really you, or is Numbuh 5 going insane?"

"What?" he replied and raised his arms. "I'm awake. What's so strange about that?"

"Have you checked the time?" she asked and raised an eyebrow. "It's only seven AM!"

"Well, I couldn't sleep any longer," he muttered and made his way over to the counter. He looked over at his leader. "Why are you up so early? Shouldn't you rest some more?"

"Like you, I couldn't sleep any longer," he replied. He carefully twirled around his glass of orange juice on the table. At least he had taken a few sips of it, but it really wasn't all that tempting. He had lost his appetite.

Numbuh 4 got himself a bowl of cereal and sat down by the table. He leaned his head on his hand, and looked across the table at Numbuh 1. "I wonder why the Delightfuls haven't attacked us yet. It's been two days now. I was certain they'd do it yesterday before lunch."

"Who knows?" Numbuh 1 replied. "Maybe they're plotting something bigger right now as we speak. I have a feeling we're not through with them yet. And Father must be furious about losing the battle."

"Numbuh 5 thinks he's got _something_ up his sleeve," Numbuh 5 muttered thoughtfully.

"Yes, we're starting to know him now," Numbuh 1 agreed. "He's planning something, alright."

"Maybe we should get the heck outta here before they attack, then?" Numbuh 4 asked, his eyes wide.

"No, we have to stay here and wait," Numbuh 1 replied. "The Kids Next Door won't run!"

Numbuh 4 thought about it, and then he grinned evilly. "Yeah, let's beat the crud outta them!"

"Good morning!" a cheerful voice called from the door. Everybody turned to see Numbuh 3 standing there and waving at them with a green sleeve-covered hand.

"Hi, Kuki!" Numbuh 4 said, happy to see her. When he noticed that the two others were glaring strangely at him, he blushed. "Err… I mean, Numbuh 3…"

Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 5 exchanged sly looks, both of them smiling.

Numbuh 3 walked over to Numbuh 4. "I noticed you left early," she said, her smile fading.

"Well, I… I didn't want to bother you, so…" he replied, avoiding eye contact while scratching his arm awkwardly. "And besides, I was getting hungry. And since I was already awake, I went here to get some food."

"Oh, okay," she said. "I was worried something was wrong. I looked for you in your room, but you weren't there. Then I thought I'd check the kitchen. How long have you been up?"

"Like fifteen minutes," he answered.

"Numbuh 3, can I talk to you over there for a sec?" Numbuh 5 asked and got up from the chair while pointing over to the door.

"Sure thing, Numbuh 5!" Numbuh 3 twittered, and skipped after the African American over to the door that led to the hall.

"Girl talk, huh?" Numbuh 4 muttered and dipped his spoon in the cereal.

"Yep." Numbuh 1 shined his shades on his shirt. "They have obviously started to do that more often now. I'm glad they can be such good friends, though." He checked the shades by holding them up towards the light, and put them on as he registered they were clean. Then he smiled slyly at the blond Australian. "Is there something going on between you and Numbuh 3 now, Numbuh 4?"

Numbuh 4 was eating a spoon of cereal at the moment, and he now choked on it. He coughed for a while. Then he stared at his leader in shock. "Err… I-I… Well… I thought, well… Is that… wrong?"

"Well, not really…" Numbuh 1 muttered. "But you do remember what I told you all about having feelings for fellow operatives, right?"

Numbuh 4 was about to nod, but Numbuh 1 explained it over again before he got that far.

"If you have feelings for someone on your own team, you can barely concentrate about your work. Your emotions get in the way, and if this certain person gets hurt during a battle, you will not be able to your best. You'll be worried about his or her wellbeing. I for one did not allow it in my team in the beginning, but since nothing happened, I thought I wouldn't have to mention it again. I figured we could all live together as coworkers. Then I realized how much you all meant to me, and started to think that it was a stupid policy. Though it was right about the boyfriend-girlfriend part… Since there are feelings stronger than friendship between you and Numbuh 3, I'm just worried about you. What if Numbuh 3 gets hurt in a battle, Numbuh 4? Have you thought about that?"

"But…But I've had a crush on her for a very long time!" Numbuh 4 protested. "And I've done my job just fine!"

"Have you told her how you feel about her yet?" Numbuh 1 asked.

"Yeah, I have…" the Aussie answered. "I told her that night I took off and got kidnapped by those Delightful Creeps!"

"Oh, so that's why you left that night?"

Numbuh 4 nodded. "She misunderstood what I said, so I got cranky and left. That's pretty much it."

"Well, I understood you two have been arguing a little," Numbuh 1 muttered.

"Yeah, we have, but it doesn't matter," Numbuh 4 said. "Everything's just fine now. Better than ever, I would say." A smile lit up his face.

"Is that so, huh?" the British asked with a sly grin.

As the two boys were talking over by the table, the two girls had been talking as well, out in the hall.

"You didn't tell me he was in your room!" Numbuh 5 said with an irritated yet sly voice. Her amber eyes were sparkling with enthusiasm. "C'mon, Numbuh 5 wants to hear some details!"

Numbuh 3 giggled. "Well, it wasn't exactly planned. He came into my room last night when I was sleeping. He woke me up by mistake, but I was happy he did. We talked a little, and I told him I loved him…"

Numbuh 5 gasped with excitement. "You did? Oh my! What did he say?"

"Well, he had already told me that he loved me," Numbuh 3 replied. "He told me up at the Moon Base. Remember I told you about Numbuh 86 and all?"

"Oh, yeah…" Numbuh 5 said thoughtfully. "Yeah, he did tell you when we were up there. Aww, that's so cute!"

"I know!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed and folded her hands under her chin. "And last night… we hugged. It was the best ever."

Numbuh 5 grinned. "And then-?"

Numbuh 3 bit her lower lip, still smiling widely. "And then… he kissed me!"

"No way!"

"Yeah way!"

The two girls cheered a little in unison.

"That's what Numbuh 5's talking about! You go, girl!"

"And we kissed a little more before we went to sleep," Numbuh 3 told her. "And he fell asleep with his arms around me. Oh, it was so perfect!"

"I'm so happy for you, girl," Numbuh 5 said and hugged the Japanese. "You guys are finally a couple. I've been waiting so long for this; two of my best friends, together!"

"I'm happy, too," Numbuh 3 said as they let go of each other again. "But I don't know if we're a couple. See, I woke up alone this morning. I had been expecting to see him sleeping next to me, but he wasn't there. So I got a bad feeling about it. But he said he'd woken up and didn't want to bother me…"

"Yeah, I heard that, "Numbuh 5 replied. "But that only means he respects you, though. He respects your privacy, and if I were you, I'd be happy."

"Well, I'm not that happy about it," Numbuh 3 muttered. "I'd much rather wake up and see him sleeping next to me, or be awake and star at me with his beautiful green eyes… Oh, he's so perfect!"

Numbuh 5 laughed. "Either way, you two are going to be together, and nothing can break you apart now!"

"You're right!"

Suddenly, a guy's voice was heard further down the hall: "Wow, I never knew girly gossip could be this interesting!"

The two girls turned their heads to see Numbuh 2 walking towards them.

"That was really something," he giggled. "I'll go bug Numbuh 4 right away!"

"No, you ain't!" Numbuh 5 growled and grabbed a hold of his arm. "And for how long have you been standing over there and listening?"

"Oh, just a little while," he told them. "I heard something about someone kissing someone, and then I just had to listen! I didn't know you two were getting down, Numbuh 3!" He laughed.

"Shut up, man!" Numbuh 5 snapped.

"Yeah, Numbuh 4 and I just kissed," Numbuh 3 said annoyed and placed her hands on her hips. "It's not really that big a deal."

"Yes, it is!" Numbuh 2 replied and grinned. He then walked away from the girls and into the kitchen. "Hey, Numbuh 4! How was last night?"

The poor Australian just stared at him, his chin practically hitting the floor.

Numbuh 2 made kissing sounds before he slapped his thighs and laughed loudly.

Numbuh 4 was dumbfounded for a moment, his face completely red. Then he finally managed to shout: "Nothing happened!"

"Oh, sure!" Numbuh 2 exclaimed ironically and laughed again. "'Cause you didn't kiss her at all, did you?"

"S-shut up!" Numbuh 4 stuttered irritated.

"I'm sorry, Numbuh 4!" Numbuh 3 called from the door. "That big moron overheard the conversation me and Numbuh 5 were having."

"You told her, too?" he cried.

"Alright, guys," Numbuh 1 said calmly. "Try to ease down a little, okay?"

"What?" Numbuh 2 said innocently. "I'm allowed to laugh a little, ain't I?" He turned his head towards an annoyed Aussie. "I never knew you were such a Romeo, Numbuh 4!" He then laughed again.

"Shut it!" Numbuh 4 snapped and clenched his fists.

All of the sudden, like lighting from a blue sky, the wall of the kitchen was blasted open. Pieces of wood flew everywhere. The counter was splintered.

As trained, the five operatives threw themselves down on the floor, protecting their heads.

Numbuh 1 looked up and lowered his eyebrows as he saw what had invaded their Treehouse.

"Good morning, Kids Next Door!" the five voices said in unison. "Care to join us for breakfast?" Five metal claws were shot out from the front of the Delightful Children's ship.

"Spread out!" Numbuh 1 shouted to his team. It only took them a moment to get up from the floor and start running. Numbuh 1 himself ran through the TV room. Numbuh 2 was right behind him.

"What are we supposed to do now?" hollered Numbuh 2, panting heavily.

"We have to get to one of the ships!" Numbuh 1 replied and tried to speed up. "Any of them will do! Now, hurry up!"

Numbuh 5 had made a run for it down the hall. Numbuh 3 followed right behind.

Numbuh 4 had stayed in the kitchen to throw something at the ship. He threw some kitchenware before he realized he couldn't break the glass of their ship this time. Then he ran out of there, down the hall after the girls. Two of the big metal claws were after him. He tried to run faster.

Two claws were after Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 2 as well now. The two boys had noticed them, and they now tried to run as fast as they possibly could.

"They've used these kinds of claws here before!" Numbuh 1 called out to the mechanic. "Remember the time they turned me into an adult?"

"Yeah!" came Numbuh 2's reply. "They sure do love them!"

Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 5 were way ahead of Numbuh 4. They tried to get to a weapon storage.

"Numbuh 5 – what do you think they want with us this time?" Numbuh 3 asked as they ran.

"Frankly, Numbuh 5 doesn't wanna know!" Numbuh 5 shot back. "Keep running!"

About a hall behind came Numbuh 4. He was gaining on the girls now. Forcing his mind to think, he tried to come up with the best way to get away from the claws that were after him. He suddenly noticed a wooden box down the hall. Above it was a branch. He got an idea. As he got closer to the box, he jumped up on it and grabbed a hold of the branch. The two claws passed him.

"Hah!" he exclaimed with a grin and let himself fall to the floor between the two big wires that belonged to the claws. "They ain't so smart." But his smile faded as he remembered that the two girls were further down the next hall. His eyes grew wider. "Numbuh 3!" Then he started to chase the two claws.

Numbuh 2 suddenly tripped as he stepped on a loose shoelace. He cried out as he fell to the floor.

Numbuh 1 turned around to see him get caught by one of the claws. "Numbuh 2!"

"Save yourself!" Numbuh 2 shouted and tried to squirm out of the hard grip the claw held around his waist.

Numbuh 1 was about to turn around and keep running, but when he noticed the other metal claw coming for him, he tried to look for a diversionary maneuver to get away from it.

Numbuh 5 suddenly noticed the two metal claws coming after them. "Numbuh 3 – don't look back!"

"What?" Curious, the Japanese turned her head to see the two claws as well. She screamed and tried to speed up. Gaining on Numbuh 5, she grabbed a hold of the African American's arm. "We gotta go faster!"

"Numbuh 5 can't run much longer!"

"You have to!"

Numbuh 5 stepped on a loose floorboard and started to lose her balance. Since Numbuh 3 held onto her, she also lost balance. Both girls fell to the floor, crying out in unison. Numbuh 5 got up quickly.

"Come on!" she called.

But before Numbuh 3 could get up from the floor again, one of the claws grabbed her around the waist. "No!" she cried. "Numbuh 5 – help!"

Numbuh 5 turned around. She knew there wasn't anything she could do for her teammate, but she still tried to look for something she could use to get Numbuh 3 out of there. She never got that far. The claw started to bring the Japanese back down the hall from where they had come from.

Numbuh 4 had followed the two big wires that belonged to the metal claws. He suddenly noticed that one of them was going the other way now. Startled, he jumped back when he saw the claw coming back towards him. Then he noticed that Numbuh 3 was stuck in it.

Numbuh 3 banged her fists against the hard material of the claw. "No! Let me go!" she screamed.

"Numbuh 3!" Numbuh 4 shouted. He then noticed the other claw coming back at him as well, this one carrying Numbuh 5. "Crud!" he exclaimed and jumped out of the way as both claws passed him.

"Numbuh 4 – get the heck outta here!" Numbuh 5 screamed. She tried to get out of the claw's grip, but in vain.

The claws with the two girls reached their destination. The Delightful Children stared at them through the glass.

"You actually thought you could run from us, Kids Next Door?" the five voices asked in unison. "There is no escape for you this time. See the lenses in the front of the claws? Those are little cameras. We can see where we're going, steering one claw each. Fascinating, isn't it?"

Into the kitchen was suddenly Numbuh 2 brought by one claw. After him followed Numbuh 1 in another one. A third one was came back from the long hall, carrying Numbuh 4, who obviously hadn't run away and got caught by the last claw.

"You're coming with us now, Kids Next _Doom_!" the Delightfuls said. "We will have our revenge upon you, and there's nothing you can do to stop us!" They threw their heads back and laughed monotonously.

Numbuhs 1 through 5 looked at each other. Numbuh 1 tried to get loose, kicking his feet. Numbuh 2 tried to look for a weak spot on his claw. Numbuh 3 squirmed. Numbuh 4 kicked his feet and waved his fists frantically. Numbuh 5 tried to pull herself out. No one succeeded in trying to get out.

The Delightful Children opened the platform door in the back of the ship and steered the claws into it. They dumped the KND operatives on the hard floor, then brought their claws back and shut the platform door again.

"What are they going to do to us?" Numbuh 2 asked, his voice trembling a little. He stood up. As did the rest of them.

"I'm not quite sure," Numbuh 1 muttered thoughtfully. "They've already tried to squeeze information out of us. They don't really need us for anything."

"Don't you guys get it?" Numbuh 5 exclaimed. "They're going to kill us!"

"No!" Numbuh 3 whimpered. "Don't say that, Numbuh 5! Maybe they're just inviting us over for tea or something?"

"It's so obvious, Numbuh 3!" Numbuh 5 said angrily. "They've planned this, and this was the last time we saw the sun! We are as good as dead!"

"It's not true!" Numbuh 3 cried, pressing her hands against her ears. "I'm not listening!"

"Calm down, guys!" Numbuh 1 called. "Nobody's killing the Kids Next Door! We'll fight to the end! As a matter of fact, there won't be an end for us! Not today, not by them!"

Numbuh 3 had sat down on the floor, covering her face with her green sleeve-covered hands. Numbuh 4 sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

The ship suddenly started to move. The shaking made the three remained standing operatives fall to the floor with startled shouts. Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 almost fell on their backs even if they were seated. The ship flew off with the KND operatives trapped in the big space in the back.

It got quiet in there. No one felt like talking. Numbuh 1 was thinking hard. Numbuh 2 had sat down, his head bent down resignedly. Numbuh 3 was sitting in a corner, hugging her knees with tears in her eyes. Numbuh 4 was walking around in there, trying to find a way out. Numbuh 5 was standing, leaned against a wall, her eyes concealed by her hat. There wasn't anything for them to do.

Numbuh 4 soon realized there was no escape. He kicked the nearest wall and let out a scream of fury. "What the crud are ya gonna do, huh?" he screamed, referring to the Delightfuls. Though he knew they probably couldn't hear him. "Cruddy chickens! Why don't you fight like men, huh? Are you afraid to face the Kids Next Door? Come on, you freaks!"

"Stop it, Numbuh 4," Numbuh 2 muttered. "You're just wearing yourself out."

"Crud!" Numbuh 4 screamed one last time and stamped his foot angrily. Then he took a deep breath and walked over to Numbuh 3. He sat down next to her and crossed his legs and arms irritated.

"They have to open that platform door one time or another," Numbuh 1 muttered thoughtfully and pointed at it. "And when they do, we'll be prepared. We'll jump out and attack them. That's all we can do."

"Yeah, we'll beat them up like there's no tomorrow!" Numbuh 4 muttered angrily.

Silence fell between them as the ship flew further and further away from the Treehouse. It was hopeless now anyway. And they knew that. They knew they couldn't do anything as long as they were trapped in there. It made them frustrated and angry. They were defenseless and weaponless.

We should have left the Treehouse while we had the chance, Numbuh 1 thought to himself, starting to beat himself up for not doing anything in order to protect his team. He thought they were able to take the Delightful Children down if they so figured out that they wanted to attack the Treehouse. He now knew he had been wrong. They had won this time, and Sector V was captured. Numbuh 1 shook his head resigned.

After a long time, a TV screen was lowered down in the middle of the big room. It was turned on and the five faces of their archenemies showed up on it. "Hello, back there!" they said in unison. "Had a nice flight?"

"What the crud do you think, you stupid freaks of nature?" Numbuh 4 shouted in anger.

They ignored him. "Unless you've already figured it out, this is where we get rid of you," they said. "This is where we won't have to deal with you ever again! We're dropping you down now, if you won't mind. Have a nice life, for as long as it will last!" Then they laughed before the screen went black and disappeared into the ceiling.

"What did they mean by that?" Numbuh 3 asked and looked at the leader with curious eyes.

"They're going to detach this thing from the cockpit!" Numbuh 1 called out. "Numbuh 2, see if there's anything you can do to open that platform!"

"Roger that," Numbuh 2 replied and ran over to the door. He looked for a fuse box of some kind, anything that would open that platform. There was a small lid there. He tried to open it. "Darn it! I need to get this thing open!"

"Move out of the way!" Numbuh 4 called out and ran over to him. With all his strength, the Australian banged his fist on the lid. He backed away, covering his knuckles with the other hand and growled in pain.

The lid was very bent now, enough for Numbuh 2 to get his fingers through a small crack and pull it open. Many thin wires came into view.

A loud sound was heard as the cockpit was detached from the rest of the ship. The back of it started to fall down from the sky.

"Hurry, Numbuh 2!" Numbuh 1 screamed.

Numbuh 2 was fumbling with the wires, trying to figure out which to go with which in order to get the door open. As the back of the ship as falling, he started to lose his balance.

A loud _bang_ was heard as the abandoned part of the ship hit a cliff, causing the five kids in there to be thrown and hitting the back wall. The platform door opened as Numbuh 2 had managed to get the right wires hooked together just before they had hit the cliff. The ship was now heavier on the side with the platform, so it tilted that way. The five operatives cried out as they started to fall towards the now open door. They tried to hold on to something, but there weren't anything to grab on to.

As they reached the opening, Numbuh 5 did an attempt on grabbing a hold on the slender wall next to it. But she failed and hit her shoulder on it instead. She screamed in pain and fell out of the ship with the rest of her team.

The five of them all grabbed a hold of the edge of the platform just before they fell to their doom. They cried out and squirmed, trying to get up on the platform. Numbuh 5 was all the way to the right side of the platform. Next to her was Numbuh 1. Numbuh 3 was in between him and Numbuh 4, and at the very left side was Numbuh 2.

Numbuh 5 was in a lot of pain, leaning most her weight on her good arm. "Get us outta here!"

They screamed even more when the ship threatened to slide off the cliff.

"Don't more!" Numbuh 1 ordered.

Numbuh 2 made a frightened sound. "And don't look down either!"

"What?" Numbuh 4 looked down. Below them was water and some sharp cliffs. He screamed again and kicked his feet. "No! No! I don't wanna drown!"

The ship moved slightly again.

"Stop moving around!" Numbuh 1 shouted. "We're all gonna die if you won't stop moving! So stop it!"

"I don't wanna die!" Numbuh 3 cried, tears filling her eyes.

"I wanna go home!" Numbuh 4 shrieked. He sobbed loudly.

The pain was slowly taking over Numbuh 5's upper body. She knew she couldn't hold on much longer. Her shoulder hurt too much, and it was only getting worse. Her fingers were slipping off the edge. And she started to fall.

Numbuh 1 reacted quickly and reached his left arm out to grab her.

"Numbuh 1!" she cried.

"Hold on, Numbuh 5!" he told her as he tightened his grip around her arm. He looked to the others. "I need one of you to climb up, and then help the rest!"

"It's impossible!" Numbuh 2 shouted frantically. "Don't you think we've been trying?"

"I'm too scared!" Numbuh 3 sobbed.

"Numbuh 4, you're good at climbing," Numbuh 1 said and looked at the blond with hope.

"No! No, I'm too freaked out!" Numbuh 4 replied. "I can't!"

"You have to!" Numbuh 1 ordered. "I have an idea. Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 3 have to bend their knees and hold their legs up so you can step on them. You can't get up without anything to stand on. Come on, guys. You can do it."

"What if I fall down?" Numbuh 4 asked and glanced down at the water again. "I don't wanna drown, and I can't swim."

"The fall alone will kill you, you idiot!" Numbuh 5 snapped. "Now, get climbing!"

Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 3 stretched their legs out towards Numbuh 4. He carefully placed one foot on Numbuh 2's knee.

The ship slipped a little, making the whole platform shake.

Numbuh 2 had to let his leg down again, which caused Numbuh 4 to fall back with a cry of fear. He clenched his hands onto the edge and kicked his feet a little to regain balance. He couldn't help but cry out once more before the ship stopped moving. A horrible image of him falling down popped up in his mind.

"Don't worry, Numbuh 4," Numbuh 1 said with a calm voice. "Just try again."

"No!" Numbuh 4 cried, squeezing his eyes shut. "I can't do it! I can't! It's impossible!"

"Are we just gonna hang here, then?" Numbuh 2 asked, his voice trembling.

"Stop pushing me!" Numbuh 4 screamed and got up in the pilot's face. "I can't do it if you're pushing me!"

"We have to push you!" Numbuh 1 said irritated. "Try again. You'll make it, don't worry."

Numbuh 4 swallowed down hard and tried again. He stepped on Numbuh 2's knee, then he stepped carefully on Numbuh 3's knee. His legs were shaking. As he got a little above the edge, he tried to find something to grab onto, but there was only the bumpy surface of the platform to place his hands on. His hand lost the grip on the platform and he nearly slid off. He cried out, and the whole ship moved again. It was worse this time, and they all cried out in fear.

When the ship regained balance, Numbuh 4 was back where he had started.

"I can't do this crud!" he cried.

"Are you just gonna leave us here to die, then?" Numbuh 5 screamed at him. "Numbuh 5 can't hold on much longer, and neither can Numbuh 1! So climb, you retarded piece of crap!"

"Would you shut the crud up?" Numbuh 4 whined. "I can't do it if you're yelling at me, and neither do I _want_ to do it when you're doing that!"

"Fine, so you're just gonna kill us all?" Numbuh 5 yelled. "Do you want us all to die? Do you want Numbuh 3 to die? And you just told her how much she means to you! Do you really want to lose it all?"

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Tears were gathering in Numbuh 4's eyes. He sobbed.

"Please, Wally," Numbuh 3 pleaded, her eyes all teary.

He looked at her with concern.

"Please climb up…" she continued. "Do it for me."

Numbuh 4 sighed and got a grip. Then he carefully stepped on both Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 3's knees again. He threw his arms up on the platform and pulled himself completely up with a little push in the butt from Numbuh 2.

"Hey, no touching the butt!" Numbuh 4 snapped as he crawled over the platform and got up on his feet.

Numbuh 2 giggled. "Third time's the charm! And I was just helping you, by the way."

"Yay, Wally!" Numbuh 3 cheered.

"Way to go, Numbuh 4!" Numbuh 1 complimented. "Now start pulling us up."

Numbuh 4 thought about it briefly and came to the conclusion that it was smartest to get Numbuh 3 up first. She was skinny and easy to carry. Together they could get Numbuh 2 up. The three of them all needed to help Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 5. That was impossible for him to do alone. So he got on his knees on the edge and grabbed onto Numbuh 3's arms.

Numbuh 3 squirmed a little, but she managed to get a grip around Numbuh 4's arms.

"Whatever you do, don't let go," Numbuh 4 said. He then used all the strength he had in his body to pull Numbuh 3 up quickly. He fell on his back on the platform and she landed on top of him.

"Yay, we did it!" Numbuh 3 cheered and hugged the blond boy.

"C'mon, we have to get Numbuh 2 next," he said, trying to hide his blushed cheeks.

They got up and over to the edge. Then they grabbed one of Numbuh 2's arms each and pulled as hard as they could.

"Ouch!" Numbuh 2 cried out and kicked his feet. "It hurts!"

But the two others ignored him. If he wanted to keep living, he'd have to deal with a little pain! So they kept pulling him until he was up. He fell to his stomach on the platform.

"Hurry up, we have to get the others!" Numbuh 3 said and walked over to the right side.

Numbuh 4 followed the Japanese. He sat down his knees and leaned over the edge. Numbuh 3 grabbed onto his legs, and Numbuh 2 grabbed onto hers again. Then Numbuh 4 was lowered down. He stretched his arms out to get Numbuh 5. When he finally had put his arms around her, ready to get pulled up again, the whole ship moved. It got closer to falling off the cliff each time it moved. All of them cried out. Numbuh 5 threw her arms around Numbuh 1 again, and Numbuh 4 did the same. Numbuh 1's hands were aching as he had to tighten his grip on the edge. Numbuh 3 let one of Numbuh 4's legs go and grabbed onto the edge, scared to fall down. Numbuh 2 did the same and tried to tug the skinny girl up again with one arm.

When the ship once again stopped moving, Numbuh 2 grabbed onto Numbuh 3's other leg again.

"Get us the heck up!" Numbuh 5 shouted.

Numbuh 4 got his arms around her again. Then Numbuh 3 started to pull them up. Numbuh 2 helped her, and finally they got Numbuh 5 up. She groaned at the pain in her shoulder.

"Let me take a look at that," Numbuh 3 said and brought Numbuh 5 further up on the platform.

The two boys reached out for Numbuh 1 this time and pulled him up.

Numbuh 1 rubbed his arms. "I thought they were going to break off!" he muttered. Then he looked at his fellow male operatives with a grateful smile. "Thanks, guys." He looked over at the two girls. "How's your shoulder, Numbuh 5?"

"She's hit it hard," Numbuh 3 replied for her as she examined it. "But she'll be fine as long as she won't use it a lot. She needs to let it rest."

"See, Numbuh 5's cool," Numbuh 5 said and smiled. "She can take anything."

"Now the only question is; how the heck are we gonna get outta here?" Numbuh 2 asked.

…

**A little later, in Father****'s mansion:**

"We've done as you told us, Father," five monotone voices said in unison. "Numbuhs 1 through 5 of the Kids Next Door are now completely out of our lives."

"Excellent, my children," Father's dark voice replied from the other side of the room. His eyes burned with enthusiasm, his body blending in with shadows around him. "Everything is going according to plan!"

Cree was standing outside the door to his lounge and listening to the conversation. She was thrilled to know that those five little KND brats were gone forever. She suddenly jumped as she heard a familiar voice behind her:

"Surprise, Cree!"

She turned around and found herself standing face to face with Chad. "Whoa! Don't you ever sneak up on me like tha- Oh my God, you're a teenager again..!" This was the first time she'd seen him after he got turned back to a teenager. She hadn't realized that he was himself at first, and she didn't know the age-changing device was fixed again.

"Yes, I am!" he said proudly and grinned at her. "Have you missed me?"

"Ugh… Not really," she sneered. "I liked you better as a baby."

Chad frowned. Was she lying?

"Well, I've got good news for you, Chad," Cree said. "My baby sister and her pathetic friends are finally gone!"

"That was about time!" he replied and smiled evilly. He then looked at her with a sly face. "So, how about a date to celebrate it?"

Cree groaned resignedly and walked away.


	13. You can't take our job, you freaks!

**Disclaimer:** C:KND is not mine.

**A/N:** Update! Hang on to something, people! You're in for one heck of a ride!

…

**When love's not enough**

**Chapter 13**

The sun was slowly passing the sky. Time was ticking.

Numbuh 1 rubbed his chin while staring out at the open sea. What were they supposed to do now? It wasn't like they could just jump off the cliff and swim anywhere. They didn't have any equipment, no T.A.L.K.E.R.s, no nothing. He twisted his brain trying to come up with something to get them out of there and back to shore. He wasn't even sure about their exact location, so even if they had a communication device of some kind, he wouldn't be able to tell Global Command where they were! It was hopeless!

Numbuh 2's stomach rumbled. "I'm hungry," he complained and wrinkled his forehead.

"Me, too…" Numbuh 3 muttered.

"So, what the crud are we supposed to do, anyway?" Numbuh 4 asked with a frown, holding his hands up, looking clueless.

"I'm thinking," Numbuh 1 replied and turned around to face the Australian. "But I'm not sure if there is a lot we _can_ do."

"Numbuh 5 says she sure wishes we would have brought some climbing equipment…" Numbuh 5 muttered.

"Yeah, like we knew we'd get a free trip out here to enjoy the air!" Numbuh 2 said sarcastically.

"Hey, you just rhymed, Numbuh 2!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed enthusiastically.

Suddenly the ship moved and threatened to fall off the cliff again. They all knew what to do this time. They had to find the balance point. All of them pulled back towards the opening of the backend of the ship.

"I'm getting tired of this now," Numbuh 2 said and looked at Numbuh 1.

"Well, we have to hold on for a little longer," the leader told them. "The ship will fall of any time soon, and then we'll have to figure out what to do. We can't go down with it, the fall will most likely kill us."

"Hey, what about the cliff over there?" Numbuh 5 asked and pointed at the cliff next to, and a little below, their own. "Maybe we could jump down there?"

"I'm not sure if I'm willing to risk that, Numbuh 5," Numbuh 1 replied. "It's a long leap. And with your shoulder, who knows how far you can jump."

Once again, the ship moved a little.

"Whoa!" Numbuh 4 shouted. "I'm not staying here! I'm jumping!" He pointed at the other cliff. He walked to the right side of the platform to get enough speed for the jump. Then he started to run towards the other side.

"No! Wait!" Numbuh 1 cried. "Numbuh 4!"

But Numbuh 4 didn't listen. As he reached the end of the platform, he used all the strength in his legs to make the leap.

Numbuh 3 pressed her hands against her cheeks. "Wally!"

With a groan of pain, the fighter landed on the flat top of the other cliff. Before he regained his balance, he rolled on his back once and jumped up into an upright position. He stretched his arms out to the sides. "Tada! See, I did it. No big deal. Now you guys jump!"

The four others exchanged looks.

Then the ship moved a little again, sliding closer and closer to the edge of the cliff.

"We have to jump!" Numbuh 2 realized. "There's no other choice!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Numbuh 3 yelled. "Let's go!" She did the same as Numbuh 4 had done. She walked to the other side of the platform to get some speed to make the jump. Then she ran. As the edge came closer she made herself ready – and jumped.

Numbuh 4 was ready to catch her as she reached the other cliff. He fell on his back on the cliff with her on his chest. She raised her fists in the air and cheered.

"I did it! Numbuh 3, that's right, Numbuh 3! Go, Numbuh 3, go!" Then she giggled and got up, tugging Numbuh 4 up on his feet in the process.

Back on the platform, Numbuh 2 got himself ready to jump. He ran and jumped. But he didn't jump far enough. He landed on the edge of the cliff. His hands searched for something – anything – to grab onto.

Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 reacted quickly and got over there to help him up.

Numbuh 1 looked at Numbuh 5. "It's your turn. You think you can make it all the way over there with that shoulder?"

"Probably not," Numbuh 5 muttered and lowered her head. Then she looked at her leader. "But you should jump. Don't worry about Numbuh 5. She's cool."

"I'm not leaving you behind, Numbuh 5!" he exclaimed. "What, are you crazy?" He glanced at the other cliff, trying to figure out how far it actually was. "We'll jump together."

"What?" Numbuh 5 stared at him. "I'll only slow you down! Now you're the crazy one!"

"Maybe," he replied. "But no matter what happens, I will not leave a friend behind! C'mon!" He grabbed her hand, the good one, and started to run. She had no other choice but to follow him now. She knew she couldn't stop him. She squeezed her eyes shut just before they reached the edge of the platform and jumped at the same time as Numbuh 1. They flew off the platform. Together they reached the cliff, falling hard to their stomachs.

"You did it!" Numbuh 3 cheered.

"I'm alive!" Numbuh 5 sighed relieved. Her shoulder was aching really bad now.

"Well, of course you are," Numbuh 1 replied and smirked at her.

"So, what are we gonna do now?" Numbuh 4 asked and scratched his blond hair.

"I suggest we look out for Kids Next Door ships," Numbuh 1 replied. "Though I don't believe we're that lucky."

"Then again, we could look for a way to climb down from here and try to swim back to shore," Numbuh 2 suggested.

"Not a very bright idea either…" Numbuh 1 muttered.

They all turned around to see the back of the ship as it made a loud noise, as if metal was being bent. Now that the five kids weren't there to balance it anymore, it slid completely off of the cliff and fell to the water below. It made a loud _splash_ as it hit the surface.

"Well," Numbuh 4 said and broke the silence that had fallen between them all after the ship landed in the ocean, "-I guess we can be happy that wasn't us, huh?"

Numbuh 5 gave him an odd stare.

Once again there was only silence between them.

Numbuh 1 was thinking hard. There had to be a way out of there! He just knew it.

"I'm still hungry," Numbuh 2 suddenly complained.

"Man, start nibbling on your shoes or something!" Numbuh 5 snapped at him. "Numbuh 5 ain't gonna sit here and listen to your nagging for the rest of the day!"

"I wasn't talking to you," Numbuh 2 muttered annoyed.

"Nobody cares!" she replied angrily.

"Come on, guys," Numbuh 3 said. "Don't fight."

"She started it," Numbuh 2 claimed and pointed at the African American.

"You had already started it, by opening your big mouth!" Numbuh 5 barked.

"Well, sorry! So maybe I'm just about to starve to death! Would you care more if I said that?" He threw his hands to his sides and accidentally punched Numbuh 4 in the face, who was standing next to him.

"Hey, watch it!" the Australian cried in anger and pushed the pilot.

"Are you starting with me, too?" Numbuh 2 asked annoyed and pushed Numbuh 4 back.

"I wouldn't blame him!" Numbuh 5 shot at him.

The three of them started to argue, while Numbuh 3 desperately tried to get them to stop.

"Sssh!" Numbuh 1 suddenly said. "Listen!"

This got them all to quiet down. They saw the look on their leader's face. Numbuh 1 looked like he was listening for something, concentrating. They all tried to listen as well. And they heard a noise. Like an engine. A ship!

"Look!" Numbuh 2 cried out and pointed at the sky where he had spotted a ship. "It really is a ship!"

"What does it say?" Numbuh 1 asked and narrowed is eyes to try to see it better in the bright sunlight. "Can anyone see what it says?"

"It says 'KND', boss!" Numbuh 5 said with a cheerful voice as she shaded her eyes with one hand.

"Yaaay, we're saved!" Numbuh 3 shouted with happiness. She and Numbuh 2 started to wave their arms frantically. Then the rest of them joined in, calling out to the ship.

The ship came closer and stopped right above them. A door was opened and a ladder was thrown down to them. Kids in Moon Base suits showed up inside the ship, one of them waved at the five kids below.

Numbuh 1 was the first one to climb the ladder. The others followed right behind him. Two kids inside the ship helped Numbuh 1 in by pulling his arms.

"How did you know we were out here?" Numbuh 1 asked the two kids. More kids were inside.

"Numbuh 739 here saw what happened to you in the Treehouse earlier," Numbuh 735 said and pointed at his team mate. "We were on a spying mission this morning. We were going to watch Father, and then… something happened. We were surprised by some of Father's teens. We won the fight, though. Numbuh 739 had made it out of there and was about to call for backup when she saw that the Delightful Children left the mansion. She followed them to your Treehouse and saw what happened. We tried to follow them as they kidnapped you, but we lost them after a while. Luckily we found you now."

Numbuh 739 nodded.

"You were spying on Father?" Numbuh 1 asked suspiciously. "Who assigned you to do that?"

"Numbuh 362 did," Numbuh 735 replied.

"What?" Numbuh 1 was in shock. "But… that's our job!"

"Yes, normally it is, but since you guys fought so hard up at Moon Base, Numbuh 362 decided you should have a few days off to collect yourselves. This time it was our turn to watch Father and his Delightful Children." Numbuh 735 glanced over at Numbuh 736.

"You need to rest, all of you," Numbuh 736 said. "We knew that Father would come for you, so we had to stop him. If it was you who was watching him, he'd probably kill you on sight."

Numbuhs 2 through 5 had climbed into the ship while the others were talking.

"What?" Numbuh 4 shouted. "You can't take our job, you freaks!"

"Yeah, that's not right!" Numbuh 3 joined in.

"We're not taking your job, people," Numbuh 735 said calmly. "We're watching your backs. You should be thanking us, not attacking us!"

"Well, excuse us!" Numbuh 2 said and rolled his eyes. "But when a decision like this one is made, why aren't we informed?"

Numbuh 735 sighed. "Look… You guys have had a rough time. Numbuh 362 didn't want to bother you, okay?"

"Bother us?" Numbuh 1 repeated. "Informing us about who's taking whose job is not bothering! It's a natural thing to do!"

"So maybe she forgot!" Numbuh 736 yelled. "Jeez, would you lighten up? Now, sit down and shut up! We're taking you home."

Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 exchanged looks. Then the mechanic shrugged and found an empty seat.

In his mind, Numbuh 1 was furious. He knew what he had to do. He was going to call Numbuh 362 right away as soon as they got back home. He couldn't believe that someone else was assigned to do their job. That wasn't right! Numbuh 1 was a proud person. Giving away his job to some other team was like ripping his pride to pieces.

He thanked Numbuh 735's team when they had landed in the Treehouse, as did the four others.

"You're welcome, guys," Numbuh 735 said. "We'll make sure that the Delightful Children from Down the Lane won't bother you."

Numbuh 2 saluted them as he left the ship. He was the last one off. They all watched as the ship left.

"Let's go play a video game!" Numbuh 3 said to Numbuh 4 and tugged his arm.

"You should go rest, boss," Numbuh 5 said to the leader.

"No way," he replied. "I'm going to go tell Numbuh 362 exactly what I think about this whole situation."

Numbuh 5 shook her head resigned as she watched Numbuh 1 leave.

"So…" Numbuh 2 started and fumbled with his hands. "Wanna go grab a burger or something?"

"What?" Numbuh 5 exclaimed with a frown. "How can you think of food? We were just kidnapped and almost killed, and now some weirdo freaks are taking our job!"

"Hey, I'm always hungry, remember?" Numbuh 2 joked.

Numbuh 5 rolled her eyes and left.

…

**Soon**** after, in Numbuh 1's room:**

Numbuh 1 got closer to the screen as an operative at Global Kids Next Door Command showed up on it.

"You've reached Global Kids Next Door Command," the boy said. "How may I help you?"

"This is Numbuh 1 of Sector V," Numbuh 1 introduced. "I need to speak to Numbuh 362 right away. It's urgent."

"Alright, hang on a second while I transfer you." The boy typed in something on his keyboard, then he disappeared from the screen. It went black for a few moments before the face of the leader of Kids Next Door appeared on it.

"Well, hello, Numbuh 1," Numbuh 362 greeted. "What can I do you for?"

"I wanted to know why you assigned Numbuhs 735 through 739 of Sector 20D to do our job!" Numbuh 1 replied with slight anger in his voice.

Numbuh 362 sighed. "Look, I knew this would freak you out. You weren't supposed to know about it before I gave you a new mission. You all need to rest now. Besides, this is only temporary. You'll get back on dealing with Father in a few days, I promise. But right now I need you all to lay low for a while, you know what I'm saying?"

"Rest?" Numbuh 1 repeated insulted. "We don't need more rest! We need to fight and win this battle now, before it's too late! We have Father right where we want him! His evil plans failed once again, his teenage army is pretty much down, and he failed trying to kill us! He's weak now! We have to strike!"

"No!" she said, frowning. "You are one of the best teams I have! I need you to gather strength now incase of a future battle. Attacking him now is a risk we're not willing to take. You have to tell your team to stand down. I will not let you fight yet."

"But we are ready now!"

"You were almost killed today, Numbuh 1! How can you sit here and honestly tell me that you're just fine and don't need to collect yourselves? How can you sit here and speak for your team?"

"Because they agree with me," Numbuh 1 replied. "They always do. And they know that it's the right thing to take Father down now. We'll attack his mansion in the morning, just so you know it."

"If you do that, you will no longer have a spot at the Kids Next Door!" Numbuh 362 warned angrily. "Do you hear me? You are trained to follow orders, and you will obey my orders, or else you've seen the last of this organization!"

Numbuh 1's jaw dropped. "But… You can't fire me! I'm one of the best operatives you've got!"

"Exactly, and that's why it's so hard for me to sit here and tell you this…" Numbuh 362 shook her head and sighed. "Now, I'm ordering you not to attack unless I say so."

"You're making a mistake here, Numbuh 362," Numbuh 1 said irritated through gritted teeth.

"End of discussion, Numbuh 1!" The screen turned black again. Numbuh 362 had cut off the connection.

Numbuh 1 got up from the chair and clenched his fists in anger. "Darn it!"

…

**In the TV room of**** the Treehouse:**

"Yay, I won again!" Numbuh 3 cheered and threw her fists in the air.

"Well, this game is dumb!" Numbuh 4 protested. "There's no shooting in it. Can we play Mortal Combat now?"

"But, Wally…" Numbuh 3 made a cute and innocent face. "You promised we could play my games today, since we always play your games…"

"I didn't promise, I just said…" He stopped talking as he noticed her eyes. She was too adorable to say no to, and he knew that too well by now. He growled. "Alright, let's play your stupid, girly games!"

"Yay!" Numbuh 3 cried happily and hugged him tightly.

He blushed slightly and fought her off. "Don't kill me, okay…"

"I just hugged you, silly!" Numbuh 3 said and grinned. Then her smile faded. "I thought you liked it when I hug you."

"Well, I do," he replied. "But it's kinda… awkward and all… because this is weird and new…"

"What's weird and new?" Numbuh 3 asked surprised.

"That we're boyfriend and girlfriend now," he replied. "It's just a little strange…"

"We are?" Numbuh 3 frowned at him as she thought about what he had just said.

Numbuh 4 suddenly felt sick again. Was it possible that Numbuh 3 hadn't thought about what they had done the night before at all? That they actually kissed each other and treated one another like couples do? She didn't consider them as boyfriend and girlfriend?

"Y-you mean… you don't think of us that way?" he managed to choke out. He placed the game controller on the couch and was about to get up and leave the room, when Numbuh 3 took his hand in hers.

"Of course I do, silly!" the Japanese said. "It was just so funny hearing you say it. I didn't expect you to think that way about us, so I just didn't mention it. I was going to ask you if we really were, but then I forgot…"

"You… forgot?" Numbuh 4's eyes were wide with confusion. What ever had he put himself into? Well, at least it was worth it. This was real love, and he knew it!

"Never mind, Wally," Numbuh 3 said and cuddled him. "I'm just so glad that we're together now. We'll be so happy together! Maybe we'll even get married!"

Numbuh 4 flinched and pulled away from her. "Alright, let's not get hasty here! We still have many years left before we become adults. We don't need to plan a wedding just yet."

"But if we're still together in the future, you'll ask me to marry you, right?" Numbuh 3 asked unsure.

"Of course!" Numbuh 4 replied. "I wouldn't want you to marry someone else!"

"Oh, Wally, I love you!" The Japanese girl jumped the Australian and kissed him. They both flinched as they heard someone entering the room.

"Ahem!" Numbuh 1's voice said. "Excuse me, I didn't mean to disturb anything…"

"Err, no, that's ok…" the two of them replied. Numbuh 4 blushed frantically and lowered his head. Numbuh 3 blushed as well, and smiled awkwardly at the leader.

Numbuh 1 glanced at the TV before he once again looked at the two others on the couch.

"So… did you talk to Numbuh 362?" Numbuh 4 asked Numbuh 1 nervously.

"Yes, but it didn't go as planned," he replied. He shook his head and changed the topic. "You two remember what I've said about this whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing, right?"

Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 exchanged looks. Then they nodded at the leader.

"And you know I don't like it, right?" Numbuh 1 continued.

"But I thought you were okay with it," Numbuh 4 protested. "You sounded like you were this morning."

"Not exactly," the Brit replied. "I'm worried that you two won't do your job like you're supposed to from now on. And that's the last thing I want. If you turn out to be a disappointment to the team from now on, I have no other choice but to transfer one of you to a different sector. You realize that, don't you?"

Numbuh 4's jaw dropped, and Numbuh 3 swallowed down hard.

"Are you nuts?" Numbuh 4 cried. "You can't separate us now!"

"I can if I need to," the leader said solemnly and walked through the room to get to the kitchen.

Numbuh 3 couldn't believe her ears. "He can't do that to us…" she whispered.

"He wouldn't!" Numbuh 4 said angrily.

"We just don't have to disappoint him," she told the Australian. "We just don't help each other too much on missions and stuff. We'll do just fine. I'll try not to be too worried about you when we're out there, fighting."

Numbuh 4 smiled at her. "Well, I can't promise I won't stand up for you…"

Numbuh 3 giggled. "You're my personal bodyguard." She threw her arms around him and was about to kiss him again, when someone entered the room. They both looked up and saw Numbuh 2 enter.

"Hi, guys!" Numbuh 2 said cheerfully.

"Can't we get one minute's privacy in this place?" Numbuh 4 shouted angrily and got up from the couch. He grabbed Numbuh 3's arm and pulled her after him. They walked right passed Numbuh 2 and almost bumped into Numbuh 5, who was right behind the pilot. Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 watched the two others as they disappeared down the hall.

"So, what's their problem?" Numbuh 2 asked the African American.

She shrugged lightly, even though she assumed she knew what Numbuh 4 meant about privacy. She crossed the TV room and walked into the kitchen to find Numbuh 1 sitting there by the table, eating a big cookie with a glass of milk.

Numbuh 1 looked so helpless, so disturbed, so tired.

"Numbuh 1, you should go and get some sleep?" Numbuh 5 said.

"Why? It's still early," he replied.

"Look at you!" she exclaimed. "You're a mess! I know it's not late yet, but you should rest now."

"I don't need rest!" Numbuh 1 shouted angrily. "Why does everybody have to tell me what to do, what I should feel? I'm not tired, I don't need to rest, but I do need to fight Father!"

"What did Numbuh 362 say about it?" Numbuh 5 asked and sat down right across the leader by the table. She rested her head in her hands, her elbows placed on the table top.

Numbuh 1 sighed. "She said she wouldn't allow us to fight yet, and that we need to rest for a few days. If we attack Father, which is the right thing to do because he's weak now, she'll fire us! We can't risk that… Although she's completely wrong! She made Sector 20D _watch_ Father, and not attack him. But attacking him is exactly what we need to do!"

"You know Father," Numbuh 5 said. "He always has something up his sleeve. We don't know what could have happened to us if we attacked him now that we're all weak. For all we know he could have made some kind of machine that we couldn't possibly fight."

"So you're saying that you agree with Numbuh 362?" Numbuh 1 asked her disappointed.

"I'm just saying that we should follow her orders," she replied. She gritted her teeth as the pain in her shoulder shot down her arm and her back. She had actually come to the kitchen to get an ice bag to put on it. She got up and walked over to the freezer. She picked out one of the ice bags in there and placed it on her painful shoulder.

"Uhm, how is it?" Numbuh 1 asked and pointed at her shoulder.

"Not great, but it's not dead either," she replied and walked over to the table again. "I don't know about you, Nigel Uno, but Numbuh 5 needs to rest a lot now. So if you'll excuse me, Numbuh 5's going to her room now to listen to some music and read a book." The she turned around and left the room.

Numbuh 1 sighed and rested his head in his palm. He wasn't feeling too good now. He started to think that Numbuh 5 probably was right. Maybe it was for the better to wait now, until everybody was feeling better and ready to fight. Though he hated the thought of leaving Father be, now that he was weak enough to fall…


End file.
